Packages transfer alongside a conveyor belt at an Amazon Fulfillment middle on Cyber Monday in Robbinsville, New Jersey, on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022.
Stephanie Keith | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Amazon mentioned Wednesday it plans to close down its charity donation program, within the newest instance of the corporate’s broader cost-cutting efforts.
Through this system, known as AmazonSmile, the e-retailer donates a share of eligible purchases on the positioning to the patron’s chosen charity group. Amazon mentioned it has donated roughly $500 million to charities because the program launched in 2013.
Amazon now plans to wind down AmazonSmile by Feb. 20, the corporate mentioned in a discover to clients posted to its web site.
“After almost a decade, the program has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped,” the corporate mentioned. “With so many eligible organizations — more than 1 million globally — our ability to have an impact was often spread too thin.”
The common donation to charities was lower than $230, Amazon mentioned.
Amazon will proceed to spend money on areas the place it may possibly “make meaningful change,” equivalent to aiding with pure catastrophe reduction, reasonably priced housing initiatives and group help applications, the corporate mentioned.
The transfer to shutter AmazonSmile comes as CEO Andy Jassy has launched into a sweeping evaluation of the corporate’s bills amid a worsening financial outlook and slowing development in its retail division.
Amazon has commenced the most important layoffs in its historical past and instituted a hiring freeze throughout its company workforce. As Jassy has labored to rein in prices, the corporate paused warehouse growth and shuttered some experimental initiatives like its telehealth service and a unusual, video calling gadget for teenagers.
— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed reporting to this text.
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