Amazon has announced plans to wind down its operations in Quebec, resulting in the loss of approximately 1,700 full-time jobs, according to a company spokesperson on Wednesday.
The e-commerce giant will close seven sites in the province—the only region in Canada with unionized Amazon employees—over the next two months.
The company will shift back to a third-party delivery model, relying on local small businesses, similar to its pre-2020 approach. “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.
An additional 250 seasonal workers will also be affected. Amazon plans to offer impacted employees severance packages that include up to 14 weeks of pay and transitional benefits such as job placement resources.
The closures come just months after warehouse workers at Amazon’s facility north of Montreal unionized under the Confédération des syndicats nationaux labor union. Workers cited concerns over wages and inadequate health and safety measures, leading to their decision to unionize in May.
The CSN, which represents about 300 workers at the facility, criticized Amazon’s decision as a targeted anti-union move. “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.
Senneville further argued that the decision violates provisions of the Quebec Labour Code and pledged to challenge it.
