CVS to slash 5,000 jobs in cost-cutting push - WSJ

Investing.com -- CVS (NYSE:CVS) is planning to cut 5,000 jobs, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, citing a memo sent to staff.

The U.S. pharmacy chain later confirmed in an email to Reuters that there will be reductions in some non-customer facing roles in order to slash costs but did not say how many workers would be affected.

A spokesperson for the company quoted by Reuters added no impact is expected on "our customer-facing colleagues in our stores, pharmacies, clinics, or customer services centers." At the end of last year, Rhode Island-based CVS employed about 300,000 people in the U.S.

On top of the layoffs, the WSJ reported that CVS would also be slashing travel expenses and its use of consultants and vendors. Meanwhile, certain business initiatives will be halted and technology will be used in to boost productivity, the paper said.

In a note to clients, analysts at Credit Suisse predicted that the cuts may potentially lead to between $500 million to $750 million in savings for CVS. They added that the additional measures "could yield some level of savings over and above the headcount reduction."

Shares in CVS, which will report its latest quarterly results later this week, were slightly higher in early U.S. trading Tuesday.