New Delhi: Amazon.com Inc mentioned on Wednesday it was shutting down its Halo division that sells health and sleep trackers because the expertise big kicks off wider firm layoffs.
The firm mentioned it’s going to cease supporting Halo companies from July 31, and will absolutely refund Halo gadgets purchases made within the previous 12 months.
“We notified impacted workers within the U.S. and Canada at present,” the corporate mentioned in a weblog put up.
The firm had launched the unique Halo band in 2020, which got here as a health tracker together with a subscription to sure health monitoring and evaluation companies from Amazon. It later launched a brand new model known as Halo View and Halo Rise, a contact-less sleep tracker and good alarm clock.
Like friends Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google, Amazon has invested in health-tracking expertise for customers, at instances drawing regulatory scrutiny for delicate info it aimed to gather – like physique fats share through its health wristband.
Amazon, which in March introduced it was shedding 9,000 employees as a part of its second retrenchment drive, began informing a number of the affected workers on Wednesday. Heads of Amazon Web Services and the People Experience and Technology staff emailed affected employees concerning the cuts, the corporate mentioned.