Amazon Flex driver Ricardo Escalona delivers a same-day order from an Amazon fulfillment center in Tampa, Florida, during Cyber Monday on November 27, 2023.
Octavio Jones | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Amazon Amazon is shutting down a service that provided same-day delivery to malls and brick-and-mortar retailers, according to CNBC.
The company has stopped any new service development, called Amazon today, and will begin winding down the process, according to two people familiar with the matter. The people asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Most of the program will be closed by December 2, people familiar with the matter said. Amazon told CNBC that select retail partners will be able to continue fulfilling orders through Amazon Today until January 24, 2025.
The company said a small number of employees will be laid off and receive severance packages, while others will be moved to other positions within Amazon.
Amazon Today employees learned of the news at a meeting on Monday, and some employees were told they would be fired, people familiar with the matter said. About 300 employees work at Amazon Today, people familiar with the matter said.
Today’s closure by Amazon is the latest example of the company’s broader cost-cutting efforts.
Since 2022, Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy has been embarking on a company-wide cost-cutting drive to adapt to a rapidly changing macro environment. Starting in 2022 and continuing through 2024, Amazon launched the largest layoff plan in its history, laying off more than 27,000 people. Jassy has taken a tougher stance on the company’s unproven, more expensive bets than his predecessor, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Jassy cut several projects, including telemedicine services, children’s video calling equipment and mobile treasure car.
Launched in 2022, Amazon Today allows retailers selling on Amazon to offer fast delivery services from its brick-and-mortar stores and malls in select cities. Amazon’s contracted Flex drivers use their own vehicles to make deliveries, picking up packages and delivering them to customers’ doorsteps within hours of placing an order.
Amazon Today is part of the company’s push to bring online shopping to shoppers’ doorsteps faster. Amazon continues to add more facilities focused on same-day delivery to boost sales and compete with other companies offering ultra-fast delivery. These include Instacart and DoorDash, which have expanded beyond food and groceries into retail.
The company has signed up several retailers to join Amazon Today, according to the program’s website. The list includes Office Depot; Staples; Petko; Pacific Sun; vitamin and dietary supplement chain GNC; and Fabletics, the activewear brand owned by actress Kate Hudson.
Amazon is working with its retailers who have signed up to use the service to ensure a smooth transition for them, the company said. Amazon added that it will continue to prioritize and invest in fast delivery.
A person familiar with the matter said the decision to shut down Amazon Today came as a surprise because Amazon was working with other retailers. company Also promoting this service This was demonstrated to more retailers at a conference last week.
The service would cost more than traditional delivery routes, in which Flex drivers fill packages from Amazon warehouses, one of the people said. Amazon’s Today routes (which the company calls “retail deliveries”) typically don’t fill drivers’ trunks, making the program less valuable for Flex contractors.
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