Rite Aid closes distribution center in Michigan and lays off 191 employees

FILE – People walk past a Rite Aid store in Brooklyn on August 28, 2023. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (WOOD) – Rite Aid is laying off nearly 200 employees at a distribution center in Pontiac.

According to a notice filed with the state, the distribution center is scheduled to close on August 16. A total of 191 employees will be laid off.

The move comes as the pharmacy chain is going through insolvency proceedings. It has around 200 locations closed across the country, including a Couple in Michiganas it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-October. On June 20, it filed plans to Closing of 12 additional locations in Michiganincluding a location in Spring Lake and one in Ludington.

A sign outside a location in Lansing announces the “closure of all Rite Aid stores in Michigan.” News 8 Lansing sister station WLNS reports. This location is not on the list of 12 stores slated for closure. It’s unclear if this means all 185 Michigan Rite Aid locations will be closed.

Rite Aid did not respond to News 8’s request for comment by publication time early Monday afternoon.

There are about 1,500 Rite Aid stores in 16 states, according to the company’s website. Rite Aid has posted losses for several years in a row and faced challenges such as opioid lawsuits. WOOD TV8’s sister publication, The Hill, reports.