E-commerce giant Amazon announced Wednesday it will close its charity AmazonSmile to "pursue and invest" in other philanthropic efforts.

AmazonSmile, which has been around since 2013, sought to make it easier for customers to support their favorite charities through the platform.

"However, after almost a decade, the program has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped," Amazon said in a statement. "With so many eligible organizations -- more than one million globally -- our ability to have an impact was often spread too thin."

Amazon said it will wind down AmazonSmile by Feb. 20. It said it will give charities participating in AmazonSmile a one-time donation equivalent to three months of what each made in 2022 to help them in the transition.

"They will also be able to accrue additional donations until the program officially closes in February," Amazon said. "Once AmazonSmile closes, charities will still be able to seek support from Amazon customers by creating their own wish lists."

Amazon said it will continue its investments in areas like affordable housing, access to computer science education for students in underserved communities, along with logistics infrastructure and technology to assist broad communities impacted by natural disasters.

The news comes as Amazon faces and fines and layoffs in a sector that is facing headwinds.

On Wednesday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Amazon for safety violations after federal safety inspections at three of its warehouses -- in Deltona, Fla., Waukegan, Ill., and New Windsor, N.Y.

Earlier this month, Amazon announced layoffs totaling 18,000 positions. Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy said then that the company was facing an uncertain economy and that it hired too rapidly over the last few years.

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