Amazon is ending its charity programme that made donations on behalf of customers every time they shopped.
The e-commerce giant said it will wind down the AmazonSmile service by February 20. As part of the programme, Amazon donated 0.5 per cent of a customer’s purchase to a charitable organisation of their choice at no extra charge.
In total, the company has given roughly $500 million (£415 m) to charities since AmazonSmile launched in 2013. The average donation amount was less than $230 (£191), Amazon said.
The decision to shut the charitable service comes as Amazon pushes ahead with a cost-cutting drive that will see it lay off 18,000 people. It is also closing three UK warehouses in a move that is set to affect 1,200 jobs.
While Amazon is promising to divert its charitable resources elsewhere, customers and charity workers have slammed the timing of the decision, which comes during the cost-of-living crisis.
“Very disappointing news that #AmazonSmile is winding down next month,” tweeted Paul Howard, CE of charity Lupus, which received £3,441 from AmazonSmile donations in 2022.
“This source of income will be sorely missed at a time when charities are experiencing massive demand and lower income due to the #CostOfLivingCrisis,” he added.
Another Twitter user, who bashed the move as “absolutely disgusting”, claimed that the donations were crucial to her local cat shelter.
Very disappointing news that #AmazonSmile is winding down next month. @LUPUSUK received £3,441.41 from this in 2022 alone. This source of income will be sorely missed at a time when charities are experiencing massive demand and lower income due to the #CostOfLivingCrisis. pic.twitter.com/dTnqXgeoww
— Paul Howard 💙 (@PaulHowardCEO) January 19, 2023
Absolutely disgusting. My local cat rescue relies quite a lot on the donations it receives through Amazon Smile and to think this extra life line is now being shut down? This was the only reason I would use Amazon. Greedy corporate pigs. #amazonsmile pic.twitter.com/hy8GOsBb9Q
— EmmaLouiise.Photography (@EmLouiise_Snaps) January 19, 2023
To ease the pain of the closure, Amazon is promising to give Smile charities a one-time donation equivalent to three months of their earnings through the programme. It also pointed to the billions in dollars of charitable donations it is making in the US, including to the housing Equity Fund, Disaster Relief, and food banks, among other organisations.
Once the service shuts down, Amazon says charities will still be able to seek support from Amazon customers by creating their own wish lists.
