Walgreens to Close 200 Stores

Walgreens Boots Alliance (Deerfield, Ill.) has announced it will close 200 U.S. stores amid the restructuring and integration of Walgreens and Alliance Boots, a European drug retailer Walgreens acquired last year.

The move is part of the company’s three-year international growth and cost-cutting plan to trim $1.5 billion in costs, which is expected to be completed by the end of fiscal 2017, reports Forbes.

Walgreens interim ceo Stefano Pessina said the U.S. retail pharmacy operation has been underperforming in certain areas and will be the primary focus of an additional $500 million in cost-cutting on top of the $1 billion cost-reduction initiative previously announced, according to Forbes.

Walgreens currently operates more than 8200 stores in the U.S.