Express Scripts To Lay Off 290 Ohio Employees

Express Scripts plans to cut 290 jobs at its Columbus facility as part of a national staff reduction. The positions represent about 8 percent of the prescription-plan manager's Ohio workforce. All told, the St. Louis-based company plans to eliminate 1,890 of about 29,000 employees nationally through a combination of staff reductions and buyouts. The announcement, which came last week, followed release of first-quarter earnings that fell 12 percent, to $328 million from $373 million a year earlier. Spokesman Brian Henry said business operations have been re-evaluated after a merger two years ago and loss of a major client. Express Scripts runs prescription-drug plans for employers, insurers and others. It processes mail-order prescriptions and handles billing for prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies. It filled 320 million prescriptions in the first quarter.