Amazon Academy, an edtech platform decides to shut down within two years after introducing. Amazon said on Thursday that it would discontinue its online education program for Indian high school students. The company provided no explanation for why the edtech platform, Amazon Academy, is shutting down within two years after its introduction.
The Amazon Academy platform, which launched in January 2021 during a surge in online education during the COVID-19 epidemic, offers instruction for competitive tests like JEE, which provides entry into top engineering universities throughout India.
The spokesperson of Amazon said, “Following an evaluation, we have decided to end Amazon Academy… We are winding down this program in a phased manner to take care of current customers.”
Amazon Academy subscribers, on the other hand, will have access to the whole course content for one additional year, until October 2024. It would also reimburse the whole money to existing academic batch students.
The spokesperson further added, “To delight consumers, we think large, explore, and invest in new ideas at Amazon. We also constantly examine the success and potential of our goods and services to generate consumer value, and we make improvements based on those evaluations.”
The shutdown comes as various edtech businesses are under pressure as schools and coaching centers reopen throughout India following COVID-19-induced lockdowns. Last month, industry leader Byju’s announced 2,500 job cuts as it strives to become profitable.
Unacademy, Toppr, WhiteHat Jr, and Vedantu were among the other players that announce layoffs earlier this year.
The company’s decision to close the online platform comes a day after Amazon India was invited to appear before the deputy chief labor commissioner in Bengaluru on Wednesday in connection with the alleged forced terminations.
Amazon began laying off employees throughout the corporation this week, citing an “unusual and unpredictable macroeconomic climate,” and aims to slash 10,000 people or 3% of its workforce.
Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, has also stated that the company would continue to reduce employment through 2023 as it responds to changing business conditions and that the choices will be communicated to impacted workers and organizations in early 2023.
He added, “Leaders throughout the firm are working with their teams and looking at workforce numbers, future investments they want to make, and prioritizing what matters most to customers and the long-term sustainability of our companies. This year’s evaluation is tougher because the economy is hard, and we’ve employed significantly in recent years.”
