AUGUSTA — The Walgreens at 403 Water St. will close March 24 as part of the pharmacy giant’s plans to shutter 1,200 stores nationwide to recoup massive operating losses.

Walgreens announced the mass closures in October in its year-end fiscal report, which also noted that the company had lost $3 billion in the previous quarter.

“Our retail pharmacy business is central to our go-forward business strategy,” Jennifer Cotto, senior specialist in media relations for Walgreens, said in an email. “However, increased regulatory and reimbursement pressures are weighing on our ability to cover the costs associated with rent, staffing, and supply needs.”

Prescriptions from the Water Street location, off Memorial Circle, will automatically be shifted to the nearest Walgreens location at 2007 N. Belfast Ave. in Augusta — across the Kennebec River and about a mile and a half to the northeast. Cotto said patients will be notified by mail and that no action would be needed to automatically swap locations.

The nearest pharmacy to the closing location is Shaw’s, a mile away off Western Avenue.

Cotto also said all customers at both locations will be eligible for 90 days of free prescription delivery, and that customers should speak with their pharmacists to enroll.

“It is never an easy decision to close a store,” Cotto said. “We know that our stores are important to the communities that we serve, and therefore do everything possible to improve the store performance. When closures are necessary, like the one in Augusta, we will work in partnership with community stakeholders to minimize customer disruptions.”

The majority of the location’s employees will be “redeployed” to other nearby locations, Cotto said, similar to the employees of the other locations the company plans to close over the next three years.

Nearly 7 in 10 adults regularly take at least one prescription drug, and about 20% take at least five prescriptions regularly.