Amazon said on Thursday said it would shut down its online education platform for high-school students in India. The company did not cite any reason for the shutdown of the edtech platform, Amazon Academy, less than two years of its launch.
Launched in January 2021 amid a boom in online education during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Amazon Academy platform offered coaching for competitive exams including JEE, which allows entry into top engineering colleges across India.
“Following an assessment, we have decided to discontinue Amazon Academy… We are winding down this program in a phased manner to take care of current customers,” said an Amazon spokesperson.
However, Amazon Academy’s subscribers will have access to the full course material for an extended period of one year till October 2024. It will also refund the full fee to those enrolled in the current academic batch.
“At Amazon, we think big, experiment, and invest in new ideas to delight customers. We also continually evaluate the progress and potential of our products and services to deliver customer value, and we regularly make adjustments based on those assessments,” the Amazon spokesperson said.
The winding down comes at a time when multiple tech firms are reeling under the pressure of schools and coaching centers reopening across India after COVID-19-induced lockdowns.
CEO Andy Jassy has also said Amazon will continue to cut jobs into 2023 as it adjusts to business conditions and the decisions will be shared with impacted employees and organizations early in 2023.