Pharmacy giant Boots is reviewing the future of some stores after its parent company's 'most difficult' financial quarter ever
BOOTS has warned it could axe jobs and close shops after its US parent company issued a shock profit warning yesterday.
The pharmacy chain's owner Walgreens Boots Alliance revealed it suffered its "most difficult" financial quarter since its foundation five years ago.
And in a chilling warning, it added that bosses need to take "decisive steps to reduce costs in the UK."
A Boots spokesman later confirmed that the future of some shops is being reviewed, according to the .
The company previously said that up to 350 jobs were at risk at its Nottingham headquarter.
Sals at Boots, which employs 60,000 staff across 2,500 shops in the UK, fell 1.3 per cent in the three months to February.
Meanwhile Walgreens, itself a huge US pharmacy brand, said it is struggling to compete against tough competition and falling drug prices.
It needs to save £1.1billion by 2022 - up from a previous target of £750million.
Stefano Pessina, the company’s chief executive, said: "While we are not the only company that has been impacted by the marked change in the environment, that’s not an excuse."
Walgreens Boots Alliance was formed in 2014 through the merger between Walgreens and Boots Alliance.
Boots was founded in 1849.
Shoppers were furious in the run-up to Christmas last year after Boots' website crashed.
The firm behind Boots travel insurance also faces a probe over claims customers died after being denied emergency flights home.
Earlier this week, bookmaker Ladbrokes said it'll close 1,000 shops this year putting 5,000 jobs at risk.
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