Amazon to end AmazonSmile charity programme
'Has not created the impact we originally hoped'
Amazon has announced that it is shutting down AmazonSmile, a programme it introduced in 2013 to enable users to support charities when making purchases.
Amazon contributes 0.5% of the price of purchases made on AmazonSmile - an alternate version of Amazon - to customers' preferred charitable cause.
Amazon now says it will discontinue AmazonSmile by 20th February.
'After almost a decade, the program has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped,' the company said in an email to customers.
'With so many eligible organisations -- more than 1 million globally -- our ability to have an impact was often spread too thin,' it added.
To help participating charities with the transition, Amazon will provide a one-time donation equivalent to six months of what the charity earned through AmazonSmile in 2022.
According to Bloomberg, Amazon has contributed about $500 million to charities via AmazonSmile over the last 10 years - although due to how many charities were supported, the average donation was just $230.
Amazon now intends to focus its charity efforts in other areas where it can make meaningful change. Some of its future ambitions include supporting communities affected by natural catastrophes, constructing affordable homes and sponsoring the computer science curriculum at thousands of schools.
The decision to shutter the AmazonSmile programme coincides with CEO Andy Jassy's spending review, in the face of a deteriorating economic outlook and sluggish development in the company's retail segment.
Amazon recently announced that it will cut more than 18,000 roles as part of a planned workforce reduction.
The retail giant saw growth surge in the pandemic, followed by a drop in sales and $1 trillion decline in market value.
Amazon has carried out cost-cutting reviews in recent months to determine which of its units are not contributing to the company's revenue. The company has discontinued a number of services and products to save money, including Amazon Glow, a video calling device for children; primary care service Amazon Care; and the Treasure Truck deals programme. The company's robotic home delivery programme, Amazon Scout, has also come to an end.
Amazon has also closed several warehouses in the UK.
"Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and we will continue to do so," Jassy said in a message to employees earlier this month.
"These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure," he added.