Amazon Care started in 2019 as an effort to serve Amazon's own employees. The company tried to build a bigger membership and sign up other employers to offer the services to their staff, but with limited success
Workers coming out at Amazon's JFK8 distribution center, in the Staten Island borough of New York City, U.S., March 25, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Amazon told employees in an email on Wednesday that it is shutting down Amazon Care, its in-house foray into providing primary and urgent health care. The move comes a month after Amazon announced plans to buy a much larger competitor, One Medical, in a $3.9 billion deal.
Amazon for years has wanted to find its own ways to enter the health care industry, which company executives think provides a big opportunity for expansion.
Amazon Care started in 2019 as an effort to serve Amazon’s own employees, initially just in Washington state. It has since expanded, offering virtual visits nationwide and planning to have in-person services in 20 cities this year, according to an announcement in February.
The company tried to build a bigger membership and sign up other employers to offer the services to their staff, but with limited success. It recently promoted Silicon Labs, TrueBlue and Whole Foods Market, which Amazon owns, as clients.
“Although our enrolled members have loved many aspects of Amazon Care, it is not a complete enough offering for the large enterprise customers we have been targeting, and wasn’t going to work long-term,” Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services, said in an email to employees that was shared with The New York Times.
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