Amazon Canada is closing all of its warehouses in Quebec, affecting approximately 1,700 employees and 350 seasonal workers.The online retailer confirmed the decision to Daily Hive on Wednesday, January 22.
All seven of Amazon’s operation sites in Quebec will be shut down, including a fulfillment centre in Lachine, two sorting centres in Coteau-du-Lac and Longueuil, two delivery stations in Laval and one in Lachine, and one AMXL delivery station that is co-located with a sorting centre in Longueuil.
Amazon says this decision “wasn’t made lightly” and it’s offering impacted employees “a package that includes up to 14 weeks’ pay after facilities close and transitional benefits, like job placement resources.”
“Following a recent review of our Quebec operations, we’ve seen that returning to a third-party delivery model supported by local small businesses, similar to what we had until 2020, will allow us to provide the same great service and even more savings to our customers over the long run,” said Barbara Agrait, senior PR manager at Amazon Operations.
There’s speculation about this decision coming about due to hundreds of Amazon employees in Laval, Quebec, unionizing last year and becoming affiliated with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), a decision the retailer challenged unsuccessfully.
However, Amazon says the closures are about “offering the best service we can to customers in a way that’s efficient and cost-effective.”
The platform says it has a longstanding relationship with third parties across the province and works with them regularly. The relationship was exclusive until 2020, and lower costs are the reason it is returning.
“This decision makes no sense”
The CSN published a statement on Wednesday strongly condemning Amazon’s “wild closures” in Quebec.
“It was through a simple email from one of Amazon’s lawyers that the CSN and the union representing the 300 employees of the DXT4 center in Laval learned, early this morning, of the definitive closure of all of its warehouses as well as its desire to transfer all of its operations in Quebec to subcontractors.” it reads.
“This decision makes no sense, neither on a business level nor on an operational level,” said CSN President Caroline Senneville.
Caroline Senneville/Shutterstock
“Amazon, one of the best integrated companies between the click of a mouse and home delivery, would entrust all of its warehousing and distribution operations across Quebec to a third party? There are limits to taking us for fools. It’s the complete opposite of the model developed by Amazon.”
“This is a slap in the face for all workers in Quebec. Since the beginning of our campaign three years ago, Amazon has done everything it can to prevent its employees from unionizing: fear campaigns, anti-union messages, contesting the Labour Code, disguised dismissals… And today, we learn that the multinational prefers to withdraw from Quebec rather than respect its obligation to agree on a collective agreement? This is totally unacceptable,” she continued.
Senneville added that there was “no doubt” the closures announced on Wednesday are part of an anti-union campaign against the CSN and Amazon employees.
“This is an action that is contrary to the provisions of the Labour Code, which we will firmly fight. The CSN will never abandon its mission to unionize the world and defend workers’ rights, no matter which multinational stands before us – and no matter what anti-union strategy is used. And we will support DXT4 employees in all the steps and protests that will have to be undertaken in the coming days.”
What about your Amazon Canada deliveries?
There may be more savings and great service in store for “the long run,” but how will this fare for customers in the short term?
Given the large scale of Amazon’s interprovincial operations, you may wonder if these closures will affect your orders and delivery times.
oliverdelahaye/Shutterstock
We asked Amazon but got a vague answer about the imminent impact of these closures on Canadian customers.
“Returning to a well-tested third-party-only model will allow us to provide the same great service and even more savings to our customers over the long run,” a spokesperson reiterated to us over email.
Daily Hive has asked Amazon Canada to clarify the closures’ short-term effects and will update this story when it responds.