One hundred thirty-six jobs will be lost when Rite Aid closes its facility in Oregon.
Rite Aid informed state officials that it intended to shut its Wilsonville warehouse in the spring of 2019, which would result in the loss of 136 jobs.
The Pennsylvania-based retailer informed government representatives that layoffs would start the first week of January and last through the distribution centre's final closure on April 5, 2024.
The business claimed to have informed staff on Friday that some would stay on the job briefly after the closing date to help with the final shutdown.
The news follows Rite Aid's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday as the struggling business confronts a string of lawsuits over its alleged part in causing the opioid epidemic by improperly filling prescriptions for opioids and struggles with declining revenues.
In its federal bankruptcy declaration, the drugstore business reported operating more than 2,000 locations, mostly in the Northeast and on the West Coast.
Rite Aid will liquidate 154 underperforming shops as part of its voluntary Chapter 11 procedure.
Although the business shuttered its Southeast Portland location, which was situated at 2440 Cesar Chavez Blvd., in September, it has yet to name any Oregon locations that would close due to the bankruptcy. Alicja Wojczyk, a spokeswoman for Rite Aid, stated that just before the closure, the firm assessed the location's performance to see if it satisfied the demands of the company's patrons and overall business.
"A decision to close a store is one we take very seriously and is based on a variety of factors including business strategy, lease and rent considerations, local business conditions and viability, and store performance," said Wojczyk at the time.
How the Wilsonville warehouse's shutdown would impact Rite Aid's other Oregon locations needs to be clarified. An inquiry for comment made late on Friday went unanswered by the corporation.