Why Is Amazon Closing Seven Facilities in Quebec?
Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait denied that the closures were tied to the unionization at a warehouse in Laval.
Context
Amazon is set to close seven warehousing and logistics sites in Quebec, impacting 1,700 regular and 250 seasonal employees. The company claims the closures are about service optimization and will return to third-party delivery models, but union leaders and employees argue the move is an anti-union campaign.
Analysis
Amazon has announced that they are closing their warehouses and logistics operations in Quebec. Over the next two months, the online retail giant will close seven operation sites – one fulfillment centre, two sorting centres, three delivery stations, and one extra-large delivery station.
The series of closures comes after a unionization of 200 employees in the spring of 2024 at the DXT4 warehouse in Laval. Amazon and the union were currently negotiating its first collective agreement for which the two sides haven’t been able to agree on the terms.
Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait denied that the closures were tied to unionization. According to Amazon, they are ceasing operations in the seven facilities “to provide the same great service and even more savings to our customers over the long run”. Amazon plans to return to a third-party model for package deliveries.
However, Caroline Senneville, President of the Confédération des Syndicats Nationaux, the union that represents 300 employees at the Laval warehouse, had “no doubt that the closures are part of an anti-union campaign”.
This decision will result in 1,700 regular employees and 250 temporary seasonal workers being laid off across the province.
Seasonal workers can expect to be compensated until the end of their contracts while employees will receive “job placement resources”, including a 14-week package once the facilities close.
Employees have spoken out about the closures. Bobbie-Jo Vaughan, an Amazon employee for three years, suggested workers “were all blindsided, nobody knows nothing”. She claims that although the company suggested the closures were not about the union, that “it's definitely about the union.”
There are now calls across the province to boycott Amazon. Louisa Worrell, a spokesperson for boycottamazon.ca suggested that boycotting is a “small act that we can do to show that we support working conditions” and the right to unionize.
Quebec Premier François Legault called the decision regrettable but highlighted that Quebecers should shift towards buying local products as a response to U.S. President Trump’s tariffs.