Amazon closures a ‘slap in the face’ to Quebec workers, union says

2 weeks ago 5

More than 1,700 full-time employees volition suffer their jobs arsenic the e-commerce elephantine is to adjacent each operations successful the province, including its warehouses

Published Jan 22, 2025  •  Last updated 44 minutes ago  •  3 infinitesimal read

An Amazon warehouse and sign.An Amazon warehouse successful Montreal's Lachine borough, connected Wednesday January 22, 2025. Photo by John Mahoney/Postmedia

Amazon.com Inc. announced connected Wednesday that it volition adjacent each its Quebec warehouses and laic disconnected astir 1,700 full-time employees — a determination the national representing workers astatine the e-commerce behemoth’s lone unionized Canadian installation called a “slap successful the look for each workers successful Quebec.”

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“Following a caller reappraisal of our Quebec operations, we’ve seen that returning to a third-party transportation exemplary supported by section tiny businesses, akin to what we had until 2020, volition let america to supply the aforesaid large work and adjacent much savings to our customers implicit the agelong run,” Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait said successful a connection via email. “This determination wasn’t made lightly, and we’re offering impacted employees a bundle that includes up to 14 weeks’ wage aft facilities adjacent and transitional benefits, similar occupation placement resources.”

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Amazon opened its archetypal Quebec warehouse successful 2020, expanding to a full of 7 facilities successful the province: 1 fulfillment centre, 2 sorting centres, 3 transportation centres and 1 AMXL fulfilment centre that handles ample and dense items.

The closures volition besides impact astir 250 impermanent seasonal employees whose contracts already specified extremity dates. Temporary seasonal employees volition beryllium compensated until the past time of their contract, Amazon said.

Amazon employs much than 46,000 full-time and part-time workers crossed Canada successful its warehouses, exertion hubs and firm offices, according to its website.

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The DXT4 warehouse successful Laval is the lone unionized Amazon installation successful Canada and received accreditation successful May aft 2 years of organizing with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN). Since July, the national had been moving to negociate a corporate agreement.

CSN said successful a connection that it learned astir the closures connected Wednesday greeting via email from 1 of Amazon’s lawyers, and that “there is nary uncertainty that the closures announced contiguous are portion of an anti-union run against the CSN and against Amazon employees.”

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CSN president Caroline Senneville said successful an interrogation that the union’s constituent of presumption is that the closures are meant to “intimidate” workers who privation to unionize.

“The connection Amazon is sending is, ‘We similar you arsenic the clients, but we’re not going to respect your rights arsenic citizens. Your wealth is bully capable for us, but not, not your labour laws,’” she said.

Senneville said workers are inactive processing the daze astatine losing their jobs, and CSN volition enactment its members and research its ineligible options successful the coming weeks.

“We’ll marque definite that each penny that is owed to them volition beryllium fixed to them, and past we volition acceptable up workshops and we volition effort to assistance them find different jobs,” she said. “I tin archer you besides that our ineligible section is connected it to spot what tin beryllium done.”

Information provided by an Amazon spokesperson said the determination to revert to third-party operations was based connected being capable to present the aforesaid work astatine a little cost. They said the third-party exemplary is for transportation only, and Quebec customers’ orders volition beryllium fulfilled by warehouses successful Canada and the U.S.

Workers astatine the Amazon warehouse successful Delta, B.C., besides voted to unionize past May, a process that is inactive successful the works arsenic Unifor goes done lawsuit absorption meetings with the BC Labour Relations Board, said Justin Gniposky, manager of organizing astatine Unifor.

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“People are looking for a meaningful wage. They’re not asking for the moon. They’re asking for a tenable wage summation that they tin trust connected twelvemonth implicit year, which a corporate statement could present for them, and they’re asking for things similar work-life equilibrium and scheduling that tin conscionable their needs,” helium said.

Adam King, adjunct prof astatine the University of Manitoba’s labour program, said Canada’s provincial labour laws are “quite a spot stronger,” peculiarly successful Quebec and British Columbia, compared to the national model successful the United States, wherever Amazon has been accused of trying to stymie unionization efforts.

“Some of the things that Amazon is wide known to do, they can’t bash successful Canada and peculiarly successful Quebec,” helium said. “For example, successful the United States, they unit workers into what are called captive assemblage meetings, wherever they marque them be these mandatory meetings wherever they archer them each the things that are incorrect with unionization and wherefore they shouldn’t. You can’t bash that successful Canada.”

King said it’s a “mischaracterization” to accidental that Amazon is shuttering its Quebec operations, erstwhile it’s shifting its concern model.

“They’re not closing their businesses successful Quebec and foregoing each of that gross and profit. They inactive privation those Canadian dollars,” helium said.

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