Exit and disposal activities (Tables)

9 Months Ended

May 31, 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 nine months ended May 31, 2020 and May 31, 2019 were as follows (in millions):

Three months ended May 31, 2020	Retail Pharmacy USA		Retail Pharmacy International		Pharmaceutical Wholesale		Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
Lease obligations and other real estate costs1	$	170	$	3	$	—	$	173
Asset impairments	19		10		1		30
Employee severance and business transition costs	51		2		3		57
Information technology transformation and other exit costs	21		13		—		34
Total pre-tax exit and disposal costs	$	261	$	27	$	5	$	294

¹Includes $153 million of impairments relating to operating lease right-of-use and finance lease assets.

Nine months ended May 31, 2020	Retail Pharmacy USA		Retail Pharmacy International		Pharmaceutical Wholesale		Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
Lease obligations and other real estate costs1	$	179	$	4	$	1	$	184
Asset impairments	31		13		1		45
Employee severance and business transition costs	124		32		12		168
Information technology transformation and other exit costs	37		30		2		70
Total pre-tax exit and disposal costs	$	371	$	80	$	17	$	467

¹Includes $153 million of impairments relating to operating lease right-of-use and finance lease assets.

Three months ended May 31, 2019	Retail Pharmacy USA		Retail Pharmacy International		Pharmaceutical Wholesale		Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
Asset impairments	$	5	$	16	$	11	$	32
Employee severance and other exit costs	7		5		11		24
Total pre-tax exit and disposal costs	$	13	$	21	$	22	$	56

Nine months ended May 31, 2019	Retail Pharmacy USA		Retail Pharmacy International		Pharmaceutical Wholesale		Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
Asset impairments	$	5	$	48	$	96	$	149
Employee severance and other exit costs	24		39		22		86
Total pre-tax exit and disposal costs	$	29	$	88	$	119	$	235

Costs related to the Store Optimization Program for the three and nine months ended May 31, 2020 and May 31, 2019 were as follows (in millions):

	Three months ended May 31,				Nine months ended May 31,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Lease obligations and other real estate costs1	$	3	$	44	$	24	$	45
Employee severance and other exit costs	7		5		25		54
Total costs	$	10	$	49	$	49	$	99

¹Includes $13 million operating lease right-of-use impairments for the nine months ended May 31, 2020.

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	184		45		168		70		467
Payments	(27)		—		(92)		(31)		(151)
Other1	(153)		(45)		7		(13)		(205)
ASC 842 Leases adoption2	(4)		—		—		—		(4)
Currency	—		—		—		—		—
Balance at May 31, 2020	$	17	$	—	$	140	$	29	$	186

¹Includes $153 million of impairments relating to operating lease right-of-use and finance lease assets. Refer to note 4, leases for additional information.

²Represents 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	24		25		49
Payments	(32)		(34)		(67)
Other1	(13)		(8)		(21)
ASC 842 Leases adoption2	(378)		—		(378)
Balance at May 31, 2020	$	8	$	4	$	12

¹Includes $13 million operating lease right-of-use impairments for the nine months ended May 31, 2020. Refer to note 4, leases for additional information.

²Represents 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.