Philadelphia-based Rite-Aid announced this week that the pharmacy chain will as many as 500 stores nationwide amid Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings brought on by mounting debt and legal threats, reports say.
Rite-Aid has proposed to close 25 percent of their retail footprint, which would equate to between 400 to 500 of their 2,100 stores across the country.
Rite-Aid's woes stem from a whopping $3 billion in debt, in addition to nearly one thousands federal lawsuits filed against the pharmacy amid allegations that they contributed to the ongoing opioid epidemic by over-supplying the potentially addictive painkillers.
A list of the proposed closings - including ones located on Long Island - has yet to be made public.