• News

Amazon shuts down AmazonSmile charity program amid layoffs & cost cuts

AmazonSmile had allowed customers to donate a percentage of their purchase towards charities of their choosing since 2013.

TJ Denzer

January 19, 2023 8:55 AM

Image via Amazon

1

As Amazon continues through a wave of layoffs and cost-cutting measures, it looks like longstanding charity program AmazonSmile is one of the latest on the chopping block at the company. Amazon announced this week that it would be cutting the program in favor of seeking more focused and impactful charity opportunities. This comes on the back of the online retailer laying off thousands of employees and attempting to reduce costs throughout the company.

Amazon officially announced the discontinuation of AmazonSmiles via a blog post on the company’s website on January 18, 2023. Amazon’s reasoning for shutting down the charity program is that AmazonSmile spread the company’s efforts too thin and failed to have the impact it wanted. Amazon claims to have plans to redirect its charitable efforts as shared in its statement:

AmazonSmile had been around since 2013. The program allowed Amazon customers to opt to pay a percentage of their purchases towards charities of their choosing on eligible purposes. Since it began, AmazonSmile has put delivered around $500 million USD to various charities. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to keep it going as Amazon and CEO Andy Jassy have moved to aggressively cut costs at the company. That includes cutting over 18,000 jobs going into 2023.

With AmazonSmile shutting down in February in addition to Amazon’s layoffs, it remains to be seen if this is the last major cost-cutting measure the company takes on its current path. Stay tuned as we continue to follow for further updates.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.