The managers impacted by these changes were offered “alternative roles” and “I am delighted that some have chosen to remain in our business”, chief retail officer Kevin Birch wrote in an email to pharmacy teams on March 30.

The email, seen by C+D, also says that some regional managers “have decided to move on” and were expected to leave the company at the end of March.

“I would like to thank all regional managers for their contributions over what has been an incredibly challenging 12 months,” Mr Birch added.

C+D has asked McKesson UK how many Lloydspharmacy regional managers have been made redundant because of the new regional structure, but this question was left unaddressed.

Review of estate and staffing levels

McKesson UK CEO Toby Anderson announced last year that the company was reviewing its organisational structure and warned that some roles “may be placed at risk of redundancy”.

In the email to staff this week, Mr Birch said that the company has been evaluating both its pharmacy estate and branch staffing levels “over the last few months”.

The multiple had already taken the decision to “close or divest” a number of branches in response to lower “demand for in-store medicines, products and services”, Mr Birch wrote.

A McKesson UK spokesperson told C+D yesterday (March 31) that the multiple’s decision to close a number of branches has been “in response to changing market dynamics and the impact of the global pandemic”.

“We always prioritise the care of our patients and colleagues through any change and will retain and redeploy as many of our talented colleagues as possible during this process,” the spokesperson added.

Mr Birch explained that the “streamlining” of its regional structure, with a new strategy coming into force from April 5, will help Lloydspharmacy “operate more efficiently and provide better support for our frontline teams”.

This announcement comes a month after reports in the national press that McKesson is “in talks” to sell off its UK pharmacy branches and wholesaler business, which the multiple labelled “rumours” and advised its pharmacy staff not to comment on.