Amazon is set to close eight of its Go convenience stores in the US, as part of its cost-cutting effort.

The company will shut two Go stores in New York City, two locations in Seattle, and four stores in San Francisco on April 1. Amazon spokesperson said that the company will work to help affected employees secure other roles within the organization.

"Like any physical retailer, we periodically assess our portfolio of stores and make optimization decisions along the way," said spokesperson. "In this case, we've decided to close a small number of Amazon Go stores in Seattle, New York City, and San Francisco. “We remain committed to the Amazon Go format, operate more than 20 Amazon Go stores across the US, and will continue to learn which locations and features resonate most with customers as we keep evolving our Amazon Go stores."

Furthermore, Amazon announced that the company is pausing the expansion of the Fresh grocery chain until it can find a format that resonates with customers and meets the company's economic goals.

The first Amazon Go store opened in 2018 at the company's headquarters in Seattle. Amazon currently operates more than 20 Amazon Go stores across the US.