Motorists on El Monte Way in Dinuba drive east past the Walgreens location that is set to close. Google Street View image

Walgreens locations in Dinuba and Reedley are shutting down, according to a recent filing with the state Employment Development Department, resulting in 34 layoffs.

Walgreens announced in October that it planned to close about 1,200 underperforming stores over the next three years, including about 500 closures in fiscal 2025. The Illinois-based pharmacy retailer reported an $8.6 billion net loss for fiscal 2024, nearly double the previous year.

Recent reports of Walgreens closures have come from the Bay Area, Chicago and New Jersey

The Dinuba store is located at 170 W. El Monte Way. The layoff notice filed for 16 employees at that location is effective March 9.

The Reedley location at 852 E. Manning Avenue has 18 employees whose layoffs are effective March 25.

Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth told analysts last summer that “changes are imminent” for about 25% of the company’s stores, which he said were underperforming. The drugstore chain currently runs more than 8,600 in the United States.

Walgreens and major competitors like CVS and Rite Aid — which is going through a bankruptcy reorganization — have been closing stores as they adjust to an array of challenges to their businesses. They include years of tight reimbursement for their prescriptions and rising costs for running their locations.

Plus, analysts say they’ve also been hit by growing competition from Walmart, Amazon and other discount retailers over sales of goods sold outside their store pharmacies. Consumers also tend to grow more price conscious when inflation rises, and drugstores generally have higher prices than those discounters.

“Our customers have become increasingly selective and price sensitive in their purchases,” said Wentworth, who joined the company last fall and has been conducting a review of its business.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.