London Drugs says employees were paid during cyberattack closures
Posted May 7, 2024 8:57 am.
By the end of the day on Tuesday, London Drugs says it plans to have all 79 locations re-opened following last weekend’s cyberattack.
However, it explains new prescriptions won’t be filled because of “connectivity issues.” It’s unclear when that may be resolved.
“I know some people who would [are] actually needing to fill prescriptions, but … what do they do? Do they go somewhere else or try to have a plan B? It’s tough,” said one customer who spoke to CityNews.
“My manager usually takes his prescription here, so I know it would affect him quite a bit. I think it’s crazy. London Drugs is such a big company,” added another customer.
The B.C.-based company employs more than 8,000 workers in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The company says everyone has been getting paid since the closures took effect.
“Retail is a volatile industry with many fluctuations in customer traffic which impacts required employee hours at the store level. It is common practice across all retailers to adjust schedules based on the business requirements. That said, during our store closures, employees were offered the opportunity to continue to work, despite stores being closed, focusing on merchandising, stocking shelves, cleaning, and most importantly, supporting our reopening efforts,” London Drugs said in a statement to CityNews.
“For those who preferred not to come in, we offered the option of using vacation pay in place of working a scheduled shift,” the company added.
It says communicating with employees has also been prioritized.
“While working methodically, in a safe and secure manner to reopen stores, we concurrently prioritized ensuring our employees received their pay without delay. All employees received their pay cheques as scheduled, and will continue to do so,” the statement read.
The company won’t say how much money it makes annually because it’s privately owned.
On Monday, all Optical locations were operational.
London Drugs says once the full re-opening is complete, Canada Post and the Insurance Services Call Centre will be accessible. Anyone with questions about the pharmacy department can call 1-888-991-2299.
–With files from Kier Junos
