Exit and disposal activities (Tables)

6 Months Ended

Feb. 29, 2020

Restructuring and Related Activities [Abstract]

Restructuring and Related Costs

Costs related to exit and disposal activities under the Transformational Cost Management Program for the three and six months ended February 29, 2020 and February 28, 2019 were as follows (in millions):

Three months ended February 29, 2020	Retail Pharmacy USA		Retail Pharmacy International		Pharmaceutical Wholesale		Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
Lease obligations and other real estate costs	$	9	$	1	$	—	$	10
Asset impairments	3		—		—		3
Employee severance and business transition costs	39		29		4		72
Information technology transformation and other exit costs	9		13		1		24
Total pre-tax exit and disposal costs	$	60	$	43	$	5	$	109

Six months ended February 29, 2020	Retail Pharmacy USA		Retail Pharmacy International		Pharmaceutical Wholesale		Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
Lease obligations and other real estate costs	$	10	$	1	$	—	$	11
Asset impairments	11		3		—		15
Employee severance and business transition costs	72		30		9		111
Information technology transformation and other exit costs	16		17		2		36
Total pre-tax exit and disposal costs	$	110	$	52	$	12	$	173

Three months ended February 28, 2019	Retail Pharmacy USA		Retail Pharmacy International		Pharmaceutical Wholesale		Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
Asset impairments	—		26		85		111
Employee severance and other exit costs	14		14		11		39
Total pre-tax exit and disposal costs	$	14	$	40	$	96	$	150

Six months ended February 28, 2019	Retail Pharmacy USA		Retail Pharmacy International		Pharmaceutical Wholesale		Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
Asset impairments	—		32		85		117
Employee severance and other exit costs	16		35		11		62
Total pre-tax exit and disposal costs	$	16	$	67	$	96	$	179

Costs related to the Store Optimization Program for the three and six months ended February 29, 2020 and February 28, 2019 were as follows (in millions):

	Three months ended				Six months ended
	February 29, 2020		February 28, 2019		February 29, 2020		February 28, 2019
Lease obligations and other real estate costs	$	18	$	9	$	21	$	2
Employee severance and other exit costs	12		22		18		49
Total costs	$	30	$	31	$	39	$	51

Change in Restructuring Liabilities

The changes in liabilities and assets related to the exit and disposal activities under Transformational Cost Management Program include the following (in millions):

	Lease obligations and other real estate costs		Asset Impairments		Employee severance and business transition costs		Information technology transformation and other exit costs		Total
Balance at August 31, 2019	$	17	$	—	$	57	$	4	$	78
Costs	11		15		111		36		173
Payments	(1)		—		(59)		(10)		(70)
Other - non cash	3		(15)		—		(8)		(20)
ASC 842 Leases adoption1	(4)		—		—		—		(4)
Currency translation adjustment	1		—		—		—		1
Balance at February 29, 2020	$	27	$	—	$	110	$	22	$	158

¹Represents liability for facility closings and related lease termination charges recorded as an offset to right-of-use assets upon the adoption of ASC 842. Refer to note 4, leases and note 17, new accounting pronouncements for additional information.

The changes in liabilities related to the Store Optimization Program include the following (in millions):

	Lease obligations and other real estate costs		Employee severance and other exit costs		Total
Balance at August 31, 2019	$	407	$	22	$	429
Costs	21		18		39
Payments	(18)		(32)		(50)
Other - non cash	(1)		(5)		(6)
ASC 842 Leases adoption1	(378)		—		(378)
Balance at February 29, 2020	$	31	$	3	$	34

¹Represents liability for facility closings and related lease termination charges recorded as an offset to right-of-use assets upon the adoption of ASC 842. Refer to note 4, leases and note 17, new accounting pronouncements for additional information.