Amazon To Shut Food Delivery Business In India
Amazon Food started in May 2020, but failed to make headway into the duopoly of Zomato and Bengaluru-based Swiggy.
Amazon.com Inc. has confirmed that it is shutting down its food delivery business in India, after shuttering its edtech unit in the country, as tech companies globally cut costs in a slowing economy.
"As part of our annual operating planning review process, we have made the decision to discontinue Amazon Food, our pilot food delivery business in Bengaluru," an Amazon spokesperson told BQ Prime.
"We are discontinuing these programmes in a phased manner to take care of current customers and partners, and we are supporting our affected employees during this transition."
The business will be scaled down and eventually shut down on Dec. 29.
Amazon's India food delivery business was limited to Bengaluru as a pilot launch programme. It started in May 2020, but failed to make headway into the duopoly of Gurugram-headquartered Zomato Ltd. and Bengaluru-based Swiggy.
"We remain committed to India and will continue to invest across those areas where we can bring value to our customers, including grocery, smartphones and consumer electronics, fashion and beauty, as well as our B2B offerings such as Amazon Business," it said.
This is the second Amazon service that has been dissolved in the past week. Amazon India, helmed by Amit Agarwal, discontinued its edtech business, Amazon Academy, on Nov. 24.