Amazon plans to close eight of its cashier-less Go convenience stores in Seattle, New York City, and San Francisco, as part of its latest cost-cutting measures.
The stores affected include two in Seattle, two in New York City, and four in San Francisco, and will close on April 1, continuing normal operations until then. Both Seattle locations have already been closed for some time.
“Like any physical retailer, we periodically assess our portfolio of stores and make optimization decisions along the way,” an Amazon spokesperson stated in an email.
“We remain committed to the Amazon Go format, operate more than 20 Amazon Go stores across the U.S., and will continue to learn which locations and features resonate most with customers as we keep evolving our Amazon Go stores.”
Despite these closures, Amazon will continue to open Go stores, including a new location in Puyallup, Washington.
Last year, Amazon opened its first suburban Go store in Mill Creek, Washington.
The company also mentioned that it is working with affected employees to find other roles within the company, including positions at other nearby Go stores.
The first Amazon Go store opened to the public in 2018 at the company’s Seattle headquarters.
These stores feature Just Walk Out technology, allowing customers to skip the checkout line as sensors and cameras detect what items shoppers take off the shelves.
This news follows Amazon’s pause in the construction of its second headquarters, known as HQ2, in Virginia, after the company’s largest round of layoffs.
