Amazon Canada says it will close all seven of its Quebec warehouses and lay off staff over the next two months.
The e-commerce giant positioned the move scuttling 1,700 permanent jobs and 250 temporary ones as a way to provide B次元官网网址渆ven more savings to our customers over the long runB次元官网网址� and dismissed concerns that it was linked to a recent unionization push in the province.
B次元官网网址淭his is about offering the best service we can to customers in a way thatB次元官网网址檚 efficient and cost effective,B次元官网网址� Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait said in email on Wednesday, when asked to comment on whether the closures were an attempt at union busting.
The closure of the Quebec facilities will mean Amazon will revert to a business model it used in the province up until 2020, which employed local, third-party companies for package deliveries.
About 240 Amazon workers at the companyB次元官网网址檚 DXT4 warehouse in Laval, Que., a Montreal suburb, managed to unionize in May, becoming the first of the tech companyB次元官网网址檚 Canadian warehouses to unionize.
The process was hard fought, with Amazon challenging the workersB次元官网网址� accreditation with the Confederation of National Trade Unions, which accused the company of B次元官网网址渇looding the workplace with scaremongering messages.B次元官网网址�
Amazon has previously responded to accusations itB次元官网网址檚 anti-union by saying it doesnB次元官网网址檛 think unions are the best option for its employees but that they have the right to join one.
The company lost its challenge at the provinceB次元官网网址檚 labour tribunal in October.
Caroline Senneville, president of the union involved with the organizing in Laval, said she has B次元官网网址渘o doubtB次元官网网址� that WednesdayB次元官网网址檚 closures, which she called B次元官网网址渁 slap in the face for all Quebec workers,B次元官网网址� are part of an anti-union campaign.
B次元官网网址淎s a worker in Quebec or in Canada, you should never be afraid to stand up for your rights, to exercise your rights given by our Charter of Rights. ThatB次元官网网址檚 why what Amazon is doing is unacceptable,B次元官网网址� she said in an interview.
The unionB次元官网网址檚 legal team is considering bringing the case before the provincial labour board, Senneville said.
She also disputed the number of employees facing layoffs, saying the figure sits well above 2,000.
The company has also faced anti-union allegations at a warehouse in the Montreal borough of Lachine, when the provinceB次元官网网址檚 labour tribunal ordered Amazon last year to cease interfering in union affairs and pay the union $30,000. The tribunal ruled Amazon communicated anti-union messages to workers, though it rejected a claim that the company had threatened and intimidated employees.
Agrait previously said Amazon strongly disagrees with B次元官网网址渢he limited finding that our factual communications with employees about the process were somehow improper,B次元官网网址� and said the company is challenging that part of the decision.
The closure news on Wednesday followed B次元官网网址渁 recent review of our Quebec operations,B次元官网网址� Agrait said.
B次元官网网址淭his decision wasnB次元官网网址檛 made lightly,B次元官网网址� she added.
The closing sites span Lachine, Longueuil, Coteau-du-Lac and Laval, and include one fulfilment centre, two sorting centres, three delivery stations and a facility Amazon dubs AMXL because it aids in the shipment of large goods like TVs or furniture.
Laid off staff will receive a package with up to 14 weeksB次元官网网址� pay after the facilities close and transitional benefits such as job placement resources.
Quebec Premier Fran莽ois Legault said he was saddened by AmazonB次元官网网址檚 move.
B次元官网网址淚 can understand that it must be tough for the 1,700 families involved with these decisions,B次元官网网址� he told reporters Wednesday in St-Sauveur, Que.
But he would not speculate on what motivated the decision, and he stopped short of criticizing it. B次元官网网址淲hy do they do that, how do they do that, the questions must be asked to Amazon,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not managing Amazon. ItB次元官网网址檚 a private decision by a private company.B次元官网网址�
The closure of the Quebec facilities after the Laval unionization puts attention on an Amazon warehouse in Delta, B.C.
Unifor applied to certify the warehouse for unionization last year, but the results of that vote are sealed due to an unfair labour practices complaint the union filed, which alleges Amazon ramped up hiring to try to dilute union support.
Amazon has denied the allegations and Agrait has said the decision to call a vote at the Delta warehouse B次元官网网址渦ndermines the rights of the majority of our employees in Vancouver who chose not to sign (union) cards.B次元官网网址�
Michael Lynk, a professor emeritus of law at Western University, said any Amazon location where unionization efforts have been underway should have a B次元官网网址済enuine worryB次元官网网址� that they might be shut down as well.
AmazonB次元官网网址檚 latest Canadian investment report says the company has 34 delivery stations, 23 fulfilment centres, six sorting centres and six AMXL facilities, along with three corporate offices and two tech hubs, in the country.
Lynk suspects Amazon has pushed back against unionization because it typically raises staffing costs by 15 to 25 per cent and holds business to higher labour and safety standards.
While AmazonB次元官网网址檚 move didnB次元官网网址檛 surprise Lynk, he saw it as B次元官网网址渁 labour relations B次元官网网址楪roundhog DayB次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� for Quebec, where a similar situation played out 20 years ago with Walmart Canada.
That company closed a Jonquiere, Que., store citing profitability troubles just months after workers achieved union certification.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union decided to fight back and, in 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed the company defied Quebec labour law when it shut down after unionization.
Because laws have changed little since, Lynk suspects the Confederation of National Trade Unions will pursue an unfair labour practices claim on behalf of AmazonB次元官网网址檚 Laval workers.
B次元官网网址淭he union would probably stand a good chance of winning,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淯nfortunately, it wonB次元官网网址檛 mean that these Amazon workers will get their jobs back.B次元官网网址�
