Walgreen to lay off 1,000

DEERFIELD, Ill., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. drug store chain Walgreen Co. said it would cut 1,000 salaried jobs in 2009 as part of a plan to save $1 billion in annual expenses by 2011.

Walgreen said the layoffs planned for 2009 should save about $350 million per year for the next two years, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Walgreen said the cuts involve field managers and corporate workers who are not store workers.

The first phase of the layoffs would be handled through a voluntary program followed by an "involuntary separation program," starting in February.