Amazon to close 8 cashier-less 'Go' stores

(The Hill) -- Amazon is planning to close eight of its "Go" convenience stores that operate without cashiers across three cities.

Amazon plans to close two of its stores in New York City, two stores in Seattle and four in San Francisco by April 1. The company said that it will still continue to open up more Amazon Go stores, including in Puyallup, Washington.

"Like any physical retailer, we periodically assess our portfolio of stores and make optimization decisions along the way. In this case, we’ve decided to close a small number of Amazon Go stores in Seattle, New York City, and San Francisco," an Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

"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,” the statement continues.

The two Seattle area stores that are permanently closing have been closed for some time, while multiple other Amazon Go Stores will remain in the area, according to Amazon. The company said that its working with employees at affected stores to identify other places in the company they can move to, including other Amazon Go convenience stores.

Amazon first opened its Amazon Go stores in 2018 in large cities across the country.