Walmart's Top Health-Care Executive Departs -- WSJ
05 August 2020 - 5:02PM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah Nassauer
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (August 5, 2020).
An executive leading Walmart Inc.'s health-care ambitions is
leaving the company, people familiar with the matter said, as the
retailer navigates the operational complexity of the coronavirus
pandemic.
Sean Slovenski, senior vice president and president of health
and wellness for Walmart U.S., is leaving as soon as this week, one
of the people familiar with the situation said. Walmart confirmed
that Mr. Slovenski will leave.
"We are excited to continue building and expanding on what he
created at Walmart," Walmart U.S. Chief Executive John Furner said
in a memo to staff Tuesday evening. Walmart will name a new leader
for the health and wellness unit in the coming weeks, the memo
said.
Mr. Slovenski joined Walmart two years ago, tasked with
implementing an expansion of the company's health-care initiatives,
including new clinics, as the retailer looks for ways to further
compete with Amazon.com Inc., and to build new sources of
profitable revenue.
Since last fall, Walmart has opened clinics at a handful of
stores with doctors and dentists that offer flat-fee primary care,
such as $25 dental X-rays and $40 office visits. In an interview
last year, Mr. Slovenski said the company planned to expand the
clinics broadly across Walmart's 4,700 U.S. stores.
Beyond clinics, Walmart has expanded into health care in new
ways in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic, opening over
100 Covid-19 testing locations in store parking lots and
considering ways to test its 2.2 million global workers for the
illness.
Mr. Slovenski's departure raises questions about Walmart's
future health-care efforts. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has said
health care is a significant pillar of the company's growth
strategy in recent presentations to investors. Mr. Slovenski "and
his team have successfully stood up the strategy we hired him to
create," Mr. Furner said in the memo to staff.
Many retailers are trying to expand into health care. Drugstore
chains Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and rival CVS Health Corp. are
in a race to become go-to treatment centers, particularly for
patients with costly, hard-to-manage chronic conditions. Last
month, Walgreens said it would attach doctors' offices to hundreds
of drugstores as the pharmacy chain seeks to remodel itself as a
health-care provider. Amazon has included a prescription delivery
service, among other efforts.
Walmart has laid off over 1,000 corporate employees in recent
days, part of a wide reorganization of its U.S. business structure
under Mr. Furner, according to a person familiar with the figure.
Mr. Furner became U.S. CEO last year.
"We need to continue on the road of creating one merchandising
team...and operate more effectively," Mr. Furner and Walmart U.S.
e-commerce CEO Marc Lore said in a memo last week to staff
describing the job cuts and organizational changes.
A spokeswoman for Walmart declined to comment on the quantity of
jobs cuts. Laid off workers can reapply for open positions within
Walmart, will be paid through Jan. 31 and receive their annual
bonus, the letter said.
Write to Sarah Nassauer at sarah.nassauer@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 05, 2020 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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