Amazon Said On Wednesday, it will suspend its charitable giving program, the latest example of the company’s extensive cost-cutting efforts.
Through a program called amazon smile, the e-retailer will donate a portion of eligible purchases made on the site to a charity of the shopper’s choice. Amazon has donated about $500 million to charity since the program started in 2013.
Amazon now plans to scale back Amazon Smile by February 20, it said in a notice to customers posted on the company’s website.
“Almost 10 years later, the program has not grown to produce the impact it had initially hoped,” the company said. “With so many eligible organizations worldwide, he said, over a million, our ability to influence was often spread too thinly.”
According to Amazon, the average donation to charity was less than $230.
Amazon will continue to invest in areas where it can “make a meaningful difference,” such as supporting natural disaster relief, affordable housing initiatives and community assistance programs, the company said.
The move to shut down AmazonSmile comes as CEO Andy Jassy has embarked on a sweeping review of the company’s expenses amid a deteriorating economic outlook and slowing growth in the retail sector.
Amazon has launched the largest layoffs in its history and has frozen all employees. Jassy is working to cut costs, putting warehouse expansions on hold and canceling several experimental projects, including a telemedicine service and a quirky video calling device for kids.
— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed reporting for this article.
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