E-commerce giant Amazon Canada has announced its departure from the Canadian province of Quebec with the loss of 1,700 full-time jobs.
The withdrawal decision was disclosed on 22 January 2025.
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The shutdown will be executed over the coming two months, impacting seven establishments throughout the province. These locations house the unionised workforce of Amazon within Canada.
Federal Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne conveyed his disapproval of this course of action.
“This is not the way business is done in Canada,” he asserted in a statement on social media platform X.
The retailer intends to revert to its previous distribution strategy, which involves collaboration with local small-scale enterprises for delivery services.
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By GlobalDataA spokesperson for Amazon said via email that an extensive evaluation of the company’s Quebec operations led to this strategic shift.
The spokesperson was quoted by Reuters: “Following a recent review of our Quebec operations, we found that returning to a third-party delivery model supported by local small businesses, similar to the one we had until 2020, will enable us to offer the same excellent service and deliver even greater savings to our customers in the long term.”
The abrupt closures have drawn sharp criticism from Canadian labour union the Confédération des Syndicats Nationaux (CSN).
The CSN, which advocates for 300 workers at a facility north of Montreal, has challenged the rationale behind Amazon’s move.
CSN president Caroline Senneville said: “This decision makes no sense either on a business level or on an operational level. 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 is the complete opposite of the model developed by Amazon.”
In December 2024, US labour union the International Brotherhood of Teamsters declared a nationwide strike against Amazon following the e-commerce giant’s consistent refusal to engage in negotiations with its employees in pursuit of improved work conditions.
