PlanetRX to Cut Staff and Move Offices to Memphis
PlanetRX.com Inc. will move its corporate headquarters to its main site in Memphis, TN, and it plans to reduce its work force by about 15 percent, according to news reports.The e-commerce healthcare company, whose corporate headquarters are currently in South San Francisco, CA, said the move would help it cut PlanetRX's rate of expenditures by 50 percent. About 75 percent of PlanetRX's staff is already located in Memphis, where the company has a 175,000-square-foot distribution center, customer-care center and pharmacy.
About 50 positions will be lost, according to reports published yesterday. The layoffs came in the wake of June job cuts at the company, in which 70 positions were eliminated.
The company wants to cut expenses to $6.5 million in the third quarter from $13 million in the first quarter.
At the same time as it announced the relocation, PlanetRX said it has named John McAlpin president and chief operating officer. McAlpin, who joined the company in 1998, formerly served as senior vice president of communications services.
The company also announced that Todd Steele, vice president of finance and corporate comptroller, has been named interim chief financial officer until the company hires a new CFO in Memphis. Steele replaces former CFO Steve Valuenzuela, who has left to pursue other opportunities, the company said.
Earlier this month, William Razzouk, chairman of PlanetRX.com, left to join Venture Capital Partners, Memphis, as a venture partner.
