On January 22, Reuters reported that Amazon.com, the e-commerce giant, will be discontinuing its operations in the Canadian province of Quebec, resulting in the elimination of around 1,700 full-time jobs. This decision has raised concerns in Ottawa.
The company will gradually halt activities at seven sites in the province, the sole location in Canada with unionized Amazon workers, within the next two months. Amazon will revert to a third-party delivery system, collaborating with local small businesses, akin to its previous method before 2020.
Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait stated, "Following a recent review of our Quebec operations, we've seen that returning to a third-party delivery model... will allow us to provide even more savings to our customers."
In May, Amazon warehouse workers in Quebec unionized under the Canadian labor union Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) due to dissatisfaction with wages and safety measures. Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne conveyed the government's discontent to Amazon Canada's leader.
The CSN, representing 300 workers at the Montreal-area warehouse, criticized the move as targeting their only unionized facility in Canada, especially as negotiations for a collective agreement were ongoing.
CSN president Caroline Senneville asserted in a statement, "There is no doubt that the closings announced today are part of an anti-union campaign against CSN and Amazon employees."
The impact extends to roughly 250 seasonal workers. Amazon intends to provide affected staff with a compensation package, including up to 14 weeks of pay and transitional benefits such as job placement support, according to Agrait.