Amazon.com is ceasing operations in the Canadian province of Quebec, resulting in the loss of around 1,700 full-time employment, the business announced on Wednesday, causing Ottawa to voice its disappointment.
Over the next two months, the online retailer will close seven sites in the province, which is the only region in Canada with Amazon employees that are unionized.
It will return to a third-party distribution model, depending on local small companies, like it did before 2020.
“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,” Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait said.
Amazon warehouse workers, represented by the Canadian labor organization Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), went on strike in May, claiming low salaries and poor health and safety procedures at the sites.
Federal Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said he met with the president of Amazon Canada and voiced the government's disappointment and anger.
“This is not the way business is done in Canada,” he said in a post on X.
The CSN, which represents 300 workers at the plant north of Montreal, claimed the move made no commercial sense and specifically targeted the company's only unionized warehouse in Canada.
The workers were discussing their first collective agreement.
“There is no doubt that the closings announced today are part of an anti-union campaign against CSN and Amazon employees,” said CSN president Caroline Senneville in a French-language statement.
“This move contradicts the provisions of the Quebec Labour Code, which we will strongly oppose,” Senneville added, without providing immediate specifics.
The relocation will also affect around 250 seasonal workers. Amazon will provide affected employees with a package that includes up to 14 weeks of salary and "transitional benefits such as job placement resources," according to Agrait.
