Amazon shuts down health-focused Halo division, lays off employees

Amazon has shuttered its health-focused Halo division and discontinued Halo Band, Halo View, and Halo Rise devices which are no longer available on its website. The company has also laid off employees from the Halo team.

The company said in a blog post late on Wednesday that beginning on August 1, Amazon Halo devices, and the Amazon Halo app, will no longer function.

"We recently made the very difficult decision to stop supporting Amazon Halo effective July 31, 2023. We notified impacted employees in the US and Canada today. In other regions, we are following local processes, which may include time for consultation with employee representative bodies and possibly result in longer timelines to communicate with impacted employees," said Amazon.

For employees who are impacted by this decision, Amazon is providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support.

In the coming weeks, Amazon will fully refund purchases made in the preceding 12 months of Amazon Halo View, Amazon Halo Band, Amazon Halo Rise, and Amazon Halo accessory bands.

"In addition, any unused prepaid Halo subscriptions fees will be refunded to your original payment method. If you have a paid subscription, as of today you will no longer be charged the monthly subscription fee. You do not need to take any additional steps," said the e-commerce giant.

Amazon launched the original Halo Band in 2020.

The company said it encourages users to recycle Amazon Halo devices and accessories through the Amazon Recycling Programme.