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Amazon is delaying Prime Day, its annual shopping extravaganza, until at least August, according to Reuters. Amazon typically holds the event every July.
The company expects to possibly take a $100 million hit as a result of extra devices it may have to sell at a discount, the report also said, citing an internal memo.
Amazon Prime Day, which started in 2015, has grown to become one of the biggest internet shopping holidays, even bigger than Black Friday. In 2019, Amazon said it sold 175 million items during the 48-hour shopping event, surpassing Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales combined. That tops 2018 Prime Day sales, during which it sold about 100 million products.
Amazon did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a recent memo to employees that his time is "now wholly focused on COVID-19 and on how Amazon could best play its role." The company has ordered millions of face masks for employees and contractors who cannot work from home, and has committed to hiring for 100,000 new roles. In that memo, Bezos also urged restaurant workers who have been laid off as a result of closures stemming from the virus to consider working for Amazon.
But the company has also come under scrutiny for its treatment of warehouse workers during the pandemic. Amazon recently fired a warehouse worker in New York after he helped organize a protest in response to the retail giant's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
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