Amazon withdraws from the Singapore grocery market, focusing more on cross-border services instead.

      Amazon Fresh and its local fulfilment network will cease operations on 6 July, resulting in the elimination of a limited number of roles in Singapore. However, AWS, retail, and Global Selling divisions will continue, as the company believes that Singaporean consumers prefer catalogues from the US, Japan, and Germany over local restocking options.

      On Wednesday, Amazon confirmed the closure of Amazon Fresh in Singapore alongside its local fulfilment operations. The grocery service, along with partnerships with Little Farms and AS Watson, will end on 6 July. A "small number" of jobs in Singapore will be eliminated as part of this process, though the company has not disclosed specific figures. Affected employees will be offered internal transfers when possible, and severance packages along with career-transition services when internal positions are not available.

      Peter Li, Amazon Singapore's country manager, stated in the announcement that these changes are driven by consumer demand: the company has determined that Singaporean customers primarily seek products from Amazon's US, Japanese, and German stores rather than locally stocked items.

      Amazon currently employs approximately 2,500 individuals across Singapore in sectors like retail, Global Selling, entertainment, devices, and AWS, none of which will be impacted by this change. The company emphasized its strong commitment to the country, a statement that somewhat contrasts with the decision to close a prominent service.

      The reason Amazon Fresh struggled to succeed in Singapore is attributed to the country's small size and high population density, already well-served by existing grocery chains like FairPrice, RedMart, and Sheng Siong, along with numerous last-mile delivery services. Amazon initially entered the grocery market in 2017 with Prime Now, later rebranding it as Amazon Fresh and forming local partnerships, including one with AS Watson’s Cold Storage and another with Little Farms for organic and specialty foods.

      The competitive landscape did not favour Amazon; establishing a grocery business in an area where supermarkets are just a brief distance away required either ongoing delivery subsidies or competition in a product range that Amazon was unable to uniquely position. By closing this segment, Amazon can refocus its investment on what its data indicates is in greater demand: cross-border shipping of products that local retailers do not provide.

      This decision aligns with similar moves made by Amazon globally, including the closure of its Try Before You Buy clothing service and the selling off of Amazon Care, as well as the recent decision to scale back its physical Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh store presence in the US, concentrating more on Whole Foods.

      While the cuts in Singapore are relatively small, they occur amidst a broader trend of workforce reductions at Amazon, including the significant elimination of 16,000 corporate roles in January, the largest layoffs in the company's history. Other tech companies, such as Meta and Atlassian, have also announced similar staffing reductions.

      Amazon executives have characterized the global layoffs as a shift towards a more streamlined organizational structure rather than a direct result of increased productivity from AI, a distinction that has not alleviated concerns for impacted teams. In Singapore, the closure reflects the same principle: focus investment on areas that demonstrate actual demand.

      Despite these changes, AWS continues to be a strategic emphasis for Amazon. The company pledged S$12 billion (around US$9 billion) for expanding cloud infrastructure in Singapore in 2024, with the AWS Asia-Pacific headquarters opening at IOI Central Boulevard last year. The Global Selling business, which assists Singaporean exporters in listing products on Amazon's international platforms, will also continue to expand alongside Amazon's investments in AI infrastructure.

      For consumers, the shift indicates that Amazon Fresh users will need to transition to FairPrice, RedMart, or Cold Storage’s applications starting in July. However, customers primarily using Amazon.sg for international catalogues should experience no interruptions, and Amazon promises a greater selection from its US, Japanese, and German stores in the upcoming months.

      For affected employees, the immediate concern will be potential internal transfers, while the broader Singapore tech job market, which added 55,000 jobs in 2025—mostly for non-residents—represents a longer-term consideration.