Walgreens is reportedly offering pharmacists as much as a $75,000 signing bonus amid an ongoing labor crunch

• Walgreens is offering as much as $75,000 in sign-on bonuses for pharmacists.
• The bonuses come amid an ongoing shortage of pharmacy workers during the pandemic.

Walgreens is offering a hefty signing bonus to lure pharmacists amid an ongoing labor crunch.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the pharmacy chain is offering as much as $75,000 as a sign-on bonus in certain markets across the US. The bonus comes with a requirement for the new hire to stay at their job for a certain period of time, typically at least a year, the Journal reported.

Although more typical Walgreens signing bonuses are around $30,000 or $50,000, according to the Journal, the $75,000 payout highlights Walgreens' staffing challenges, which began during the pandemic.

A Walgreens spokesperson told Insider that the bonuses are "one of many steps to address pharmacy staffing in some areas."

Pharmacies across the US have struggled with staffing throughout the pandemic due to a higher-than-normal workload: Pharmacy workers were tasked with COVID-19 testing, and later, COVID vaccines and booster shots, on top of filling prescriptions. Insider reported in December that pharmacists were feeling overworked and burned out, with some managers attempting to lift morale with free pizza or gift cards.

"You could either focus on filling people's prescriptions or you can focus on doing vaccines, but there was literally no way that you could do both," a former CVS pharmacist told Insider at the time.

Walgreens and other pharmacies, including CVS and Rite Aid, have been advertising jobs with potential sign-on bonuses for several months. On Walgreens' jobs page on its website, it advertises a $1,250 bonus for pharmacy technicians paid out over the course of 12 months. The company announced last September that it would offer a $1,000 bonus to anyone who became certified to administer flu shots and COVID vaccines.

The median annual salary for pharmacists was $128,570 in 2021, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Walgreens began cutting pharmacy hours at some locations last year to make up for the pharmacist shortage — roughly 3,000 stores are currently operating with reduced hours, according to the Journal.

Are you a pharmacist struggling with burnout or understaffing? We'd love to hear from you. Contact this reporter at ahartmans@insider.com.