According to reports, the supermarket giant has instructed property agents to sell some of its pharmacies on a store-by-store basis.
It comes after it was concluded that many of the pharmacies, which are in 120 stores across the UK, are not financially viable.
Morrisons looking to sell in-store pharmacies to cut costs
The sales come after Morrisons recorded a heavy loss last year, as reported by The Telegraph.
It has been reported that Morrisons will not sell all of its 120 in-store pharmacies.
Any pharmacy affected by a sale would likely remain open but under a different brand.
Rami Baitieh, chief executive of Morrisons, made a plea to the Government last month over avoiding further costs for retailers.
He said: “I would say, please, no more. This is very important for the market. We expect inflation to go up.”
Morrisons’ pharmacy sales are the latest in health sector struggles, with Boots having closed hundreds of its pharmacies in recent years.
LloydsPharmacy, which had 138 sites across the country, collapsed in 2023.
Morrisons has been contacted for comment by Newsquest.
Pharmacy sales come after the closures of cafes and florists
The pharmacy sales follow a restructuring plan at Morrisons last year, which saw the closure of 52 cafes, all of its 18 market kitchens, 17 Morrisons Daily convenience stores, 13 florists, 35 meat counters and 35 fish counters.
Mr Baitieh said the changes were a “necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate” the chain and invest in areas that “customers really value”.
“Although these changes are relatively small in the context of the overall scale of the Morrisons business, we do not take lightly the disruption and uncertainty they will cause to some of our colleagues,” he said.
“We will, of course, take particular care to look after all of them well through the coming changes.”
In 2024, Morrisons agreed £2.5 billion deal to sell its 337 petrol forecourts to Motor Fuel Group, which has the same private equity owner as the supermarket.
