Online Shopping Giant Amazon has announced that it plans to leave Canada and shut down all seven of its warehouses in Quebec over the next two months. The closures will result in the loss of around 1,700 full-time positions and an additional 250 part-time positions.
The company stated the closures are intended to offer “greater savings” to customers in the long term. However, a Canadian union that successfully organized one of the warehouses accused action Amazon of trying to undermine unionization efforts in the area.
Amazon explained it would return to using local third-party delivery companies to handle package shipments in Quebec, a setup the company had used before 2020.
“This decision wasn’t made lightly,” said Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait. “We’re providing affected employees with up to 14 weeks of pay after the closures, along with transition support such as job placement assistance.”
Agrait noted the decision came after a recent evaluation of the company’s operations in the province. The affected sites include one fulfilment centre, two sorting centres, three delivery stations, and a facility known as AMXL, which specializes in shipping large items like TVs and furniture.
Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne expressed his frustration over the news, sharing his concerns directly with action Amazon’s Canadian operations leader.
“I expressed our dismay and frustration after learning in the news that they intend to let go of 1,700 employees and close all seven of their warehouses in Quebec,” Champagne said. “This is not the way business is done in Canada.”
In May, around 240 workers at an action Amazon warehouse in Laval, near Montreal, became the first in Canada to unionize. Despite Amazon challenging the union’s legitimacy, a provincial labour tribunal ruled in October that the workers could move forward with their representation.
Caroline Senneville, president of the union representing the Laval employees, called the closures “a slap in the face to all workers in Quebec.” She believes the decision is part of an anti-union strategy. “This action goes against the Labour Code, and we plan to stand firm against it,” she said in a press release.
Michael Lynk, a law professor emeritus from Western University, compared Amazon’s actions to Walmart’s labour practices in Quebec two decades ago. In that case, Walmart closed a store in Jonquiere shortly after workers unionized, citing financial reasons.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union fought back, and in 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Walmart had violated Quebec’s labour laws.
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