Amazon suspends its charitable giving program AmazonSmile

By Justin Jones On Jan 19, 2023

Amazon suspends its charitable giving program AmazonSmile; Amazon is aiming to squeeze every last cent out of its operations. Therefore the business recently revealed that it would be discontinuing AmazonSmile only days after announcing a massive round of layoffs affecting 18,000 people.

Through its AmazonSmile initiative, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice. Its website lets you shop for products like you would on Amazon.com. However, Amazon would monitor your purchases and contribute on your behalf.

Customers of Amazon were notified of the shift via email. There will be no changes to AmazonSmile’s closing date of February 20, 2023.

The initiative has not expanded to the extent that we had planned for after nearly a decade. Because there are so many qualifying groups (over 1 million worldwide), the company’s efforts were often dispersed too thin to make a significant difference.

Using its AmazonSmile program, Amazon has given out $400 million since 2013. The larger organizations probably received a more significant percentage of the donations, whereas the smaller ones received only a few dollars annually. Yet, organizations will not turn down $400 million…

Participating charities in AmazonSmile will receive a one-time payment from Amazon equal to three months of AmazonSmile donations. It’s the equivalent of a severance package, but for non-profit organizations.

The initiative’s conclusion will affect Amazon’s bottom line in two ways. The first change is that the firm will no longer deduct 0.5% from AmazonSmile purchases. Second, people focused on the independent retail space, charity partnerships, and other initiatives. Amazon can let go of some employees maintaining AmazonSmile after it is discontinued.

Yesterday, Amazon began informing those who will be affected by the layoffs. Due to this announcement’s timing, the AmazonSmile program’s discontinuation is inextricably linked to the company’s largest-ever wave of job losses.

The current valuation of Amazon is $974 billion. The business said the operating income for the year was $2.5 billion in its most recent quarterly report. Though the quarter wasn’t a success, Amazon isn’t in danger of going under.