AP Photo/Sarah Bentham
- CVS and Walmart are cutting pharmacy hours, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
- Most Walmart pharmacies will close at 7 pm instead of 9, while CVS will adjust based on demand.
- Pharmacists have been in short supply for years, and many have quit during the COVID pandemic.
Walmart and CVS are reducing pharmacy hours due to a nationwide shortage of pharmacists, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Most of the pharmacies at Walmart's 4,600 stores in the US will close at 7 pm instead of 9 by March, the company told the Journal. In the same month, CVS will "cut or shift" hours at two-thirds of the 9,000 locations it operates.
CVS confirmed the change to Insider. "As part of the regular course of business, we periodically review operating hours to make sure we're open during peak customer demand," a CVS spokeswoman said.
"By adjusting hours in select stores this spring, we ensure our pharmacy teams are available to serve patients when they're most needed," she added. "If a pharmacy is closed, a patient can visit any open CVS Pharmacy location for assistance with their immediate prescription needs."
Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider. A Walmart spokeswoman told the Journal that it made the change after considering "feedback from our pharmacy associates and listening to our customers." The change offers pharmacy associates better work-life balance, the spokeswoman said.
Retailers have been trying to court, and keep, pharmacists for years. But wages for pharmacists have declined lately, including by 5% in 2021, according to the New York Times.
The pandemic made things more challenging as retail pharmacies were charged with distributing COVID tests, vaccines, and treatments over the last three years.
Pharmacists at chains including CVS and Walgreens told Insider in 2021 that they were burned out after working extra hours and dealing with a higher volume of customers. Some even quit their jobs.
Some retailers have offered benefits, such as free pizza or gift cards, to attract and keep pharmacists, Insider reported at the time. But pharmacists said the pay and the increased stress of the job have overweighed any one-off perks.