Amazon on Wednesday mentioned it was closing all of its warehouse and logistics operations in Quebec, the Canadian province the place unions gained a foothold in certainly one of its services, and would lay off 1,700 staff.
The closures symbolize a U-turn from Amazon’s latest investments within the province. The corporate opened three supply stations in 2021, and one final yr. It additionally had a small achievement heart in Quebec and two warehouses that sorted packages.
All instructed, the investments totaled about 2 million sq. ft of operations, in response to an estimate by Marc Wulfraat, a warehousing business guide based mostly in Montreal who has long researched Amazon’s logistics network.
Amazon mentioned it’s closing the seven services to “present the identical nice service and much more financial savings to our prospects over the long term,” in response to an announcement from Barbara Agrait, an organization spokeswoman.
Amazon will nonetheless serve prospects in Quebec by returning to its operational mannequin from earlier than 2020, when services in neighboring provinces ready the packages that have been then carried by third-party supply corporations into Quebec.
Amazon’s first union in Canada comprised about 230 warehouse staff in Laval, north of Montreal, after they unionized in Could. However the firm challenged the unionization effort earlier than a provincial labor tribunal. It argued that the union certification needs to be revoked as a result of the employees signed union playing cards to sign their assist, as a substitute of voting by secret poll. The tribunal dominated in opposition to Amazon in October, simply earlier than the height vacation procuring season.
Amazon mentioned litigation over the matter was persevering with.
With the Quebec closures, “they made it very clear we are not looking for this spreading,” Mr. Wulfraat mentioned, referring to the union effort. The corporate has greater than 46,000 company and operations staff in Canada.
François-Philippe Champagne, the federal innovation minister, mentioned in a post on X that he had conveyed his disappointment to the top of Amazon in Canada.
“This isn’t the best way enterprise is finished in Canada,” he mentioned.
The Confédération des Syndicats Nationaux, a union representing the employees, mentioned it was knowledgeable of the closures by way of an e mail from certainly one of Amazon’s attorneys early this morning. Caroline Senneville, the confederation’s president, mentioned in an announcement that the corporate had been stifling their union drive because it started three years in the past, by way of actions that included what she referred to as “disguised dismissals.”
“It’s a slap within the face for all staff in Quebec,” she mentioned.
Amazon denied claims from the union that the dismissals have been improper.
The Montreal metropolitan space has roughly 4.5 million residents, making it bigger than the higher Seattle area. Pulling operations out of a serious inhabitants heart is opposite to what Amazon has touted in recent times as a central driver of success inside its operations: placing extra merchandise nearer to prospects, to allow sooner supply. That, Amazon has repeatedly mentioned, drives down supply prices, and causes prospects to order extra often.
Amazon has not deserted direct operations from a big inhabitants heart in North America in years, although greater than a dozen years in the past it routinely played hardball with states that attempted to gather taxes for on-line gross sales.
Walmart and different retailers prior to now have had problem establishing a logistics foothold in Quebec, the place roughly two out of each 5 staff are unionized. That’s the best price amongst Canadian provinces, in response to government data, and about 4 instances as excessive as in america.
François Legault, the premier of Quebec, mentioned Amazon’s transfer was “a non-public choice by a non-public firm.”
“I can perceive that it have to be powerful for the 1,700 households concerned,” Mr. Legault instructed reporters at a information convention on Wednesday, focusing most of his remarks on the necessity for Quebecers to mobilize and purchase native merchandise in response to President Trump’s tariff threat.
Jean Boulet, the province’s labor minister, mentioned staff affected by the warehouse shutdowns would obtain help from the federal government to seek out new jobs.
