Express Scripts Lays Off 380 Workers Nationwide

Express Scripts Holding Co., the nation’s largest pharmacy-benefit manager, eliminated 380 positions Tuesday.

Affected employees were notified Tuesday, Brian Henry, spokesman for Express Scripts, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“The focus that we have is that we constantly look at the organization and consistently look at ways to be more efficient and effective,” Henry said of the reason for the cuts.

Most of the cuts were in Tampa, Fla., where about 250 jobs were affected, mostly at the company’s front-end pharmacy. About 150 employees will transition to working at home, Henry said. Express Scripts then plans to close the Tampa facility that houses a front-end pharmacy, a contact center and administrative support.

Express Scripts says it will still employ about 3,300 Floridians.

Less than 10 jobs were also cut in each of the following states: Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee, Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina and New Jersey.

Affected employees will receive pay and benefits for a minimum of 60 days, according to Express Scripts officials.

These most recent cuts come after 400 jobs were eliminated in November. Those 400 job cuts were announced one week after prescription volume fell 4 percent and revenue remained stagnant during the third quarter. Nevertheless, the company was able to remain profitable that quarter.

And before that, in May, Express Scripts cut 1,890 employees nationwide, following a 12 percent dip in first-quarter earnings.

This article appeared in print in the February 19th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.