Published: July 17, 2008 04:34 pm      

Rite Aid cuts 44 jobs as it integrates new stores

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp., the nation’s third-largest drugstore chain, is laying off 44 corporate employees as it works to absorb 1,850 stores it acquired last year.

Company spokeswoman Karen Rugen said Wednesday that the cuts amount to less than 3 percent of the work force at Rite Aid’s headquarters and nearby corporate offices.

She said the company added many more jobs to its corporate staff when it acquired the Brooks and Eckerd stores and distribution centers.

With the integration almost complete, the company analyzed the size of the staff and decided to eliminate some of those jobs.

Rugen said some laid-off workers are being offered jobs elsewhere in the company.

People who do not accept another job with Rite Aid will get severance and outplacement help.