Amazon to close down food delivery business in India

Ecommerce major Amazon is winding up operations of its food delivery segment in India from December 29 in a bid to eliminate loss-making entities from its portfolio.

This comes a day after the company shut down its edtech vertical, Amazon Academy, a platform for students to prepare for competitive entrance examinations. The company also plans to lay off thousands of employees from its global workforce.

Amazon Food was launched in Bengaluru in May 2020 and was expected to expand to other cities in the subsequent months.

"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 said in a statement.

"We don’t take these decisions lightly. We are discontinuing this programme in a phased manner to take care of current customers and partners, and we are supporting our affected employees during this transition," the spokesperson added.

The company noted that it remains committed to India and will continue to focus on the grocery, smartphones and consumer electronics, fashion and beauty, and its B2B business Amazon Business.

The American ecommerce giant continues to face regulatory pressure in India alongside tough competition from food delivery rivals Zomato and Swiggy.