CVS Health is Michael Schmidtlaying off approximately 2,900 employees across its company and impacted positions are "primarily corporate roles," Mike DeAngelis, executive director of corporate communications, confirmed to USA TODAY Tuesday.

"Our industry faces continued disruption, regulatory pressures, and evolving customer needs and expectations, so it is critical that we remain competitive and operate at peak performance," DeAngelis said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY.

DeAngelis also said in the statement that the company "prioritized cost savings everywhere we could, including closing open job postings," before making the decision, and also said the layoffs "will not impact front-line jobs in our stores, pharmacies, and distribution centers."

"Decisions on which positions to eliminate were extremely difficult," DeAngelis said, noting that the departing employees will receive severance pay and benefits. The layoffs represent less than 1% of the company's workforce, DeAngelis said.

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CVS Health had another round of layoffs last year

CVS Health also eliminated about 5,000 "non customer-facing" positions in an effort to reduce costs in 2023.

The cuts represented less than 2% of the company's total workforce, which comprised of roughly 300,000 employees at the end of 2022.

"Our industry is evolving to adapt to new consumer health needs and expectations. As part of an enterprise initiative to reprioritize our investments around care delivery and technology, we must take difficult steps to reduce expenses," the company told USA TODAY in 2023.

Earlier in 2023, the company completed a $10.6 billion deal to buy Oak Street Health, a company that runs primary care centers for lower-to-middle income people with Medicare Advantage plans, which are privately run versions of the federal government's program for people aged 65 and older.

With the acquisition, CVS Health planned to capitalize on the federal government's interest in cutting costs and improving the health of people in its Medicare program.

“This agreement with CVS Health will accelerate our ability to deliver on our mission and continue improving health outcomes, lowering medical costs, and providing a better patient experience while offering significant value to our shareholders,” Oak Street Health CEO Mike Pykosz said at the the time of the deal.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].