Member-only story
Number of the Day
Why Walgreens Is Suddenly Shelling Out $30,000 Sign-On Bonuses
The chain is scrambling to fill 25,000 open positions as pharmacies prepare to serve as local immunization centers
$30,000: That’s the largest sign-on bonus Walgreens is offering to pharmacists and technicians joining the company during its vaccine hiring spree, according to Bloomberg.
Frontline health care workers were among the first Americans to receive the initial dose of the newly FDA-approved coronavirus vaccine this week — the beginning of an enormous public health partnership between the federal government and pharmaceutical manufacturers, shipping companies, hospitals, and pharmacies. With widespread vaccine distribution expected in the new year, pharmacies are preparing to serve as local immunization centers. This includes pharmacies attached to some of America’s biggest retail chains: Albertsons, Costco, Kroger, Walmart, Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreens.
CVS and Walgreens — the largest employers of pharmacists in the U.S. — are aggressively hiring pharmacists and technicians in preparation for the vaccine rush, with Walgreens offering sign-on bonuses that range from $500 to $30,000. Walgreens told Fox Business that it was looking to immediately fill 25,000 open positions, and these sizable bonuses may be one tactic it’s using to prepare for its role in a vaccination effort of unprecedented urgency and scale. Chains like Walgreen are scrambling to meet anticipated demand for the coronavirus vaccine that could be in the tens of millions — according to Gallup, a majority of U.S. adults are willing to be vaccinated.
Many pharmacies — including the newly launched Amazon Pharmacy — spent 2020 expanding and improving their prescription medicine delivery capabilities, but in 2021, there will be no way for chains participating in immunization efforts to avoid staffing more specialists in physical retail locations.
If you’re feeling left out, remember that our bonus will be getting a Covid vaccine.
For more Number of the Day, follow Marker Editors.
