After workers unionized in Laval, Quebec, Amazon has decided to shut down its operations in the entire province.
Nearly 2,000 workers are set to lose their job, with Amazon stating that they will replace their operations with third-party delivery companies.
Quebec was home to Amazon’s only unionized workforce in Canada, which cost Amazon a lost challenge at the labour tribunal.
The shutdown is set to happen over the next two months, with seven warehouses closing, just five years after Amazon’s first-ever warehouse opened in Quebec.
Amazon spokesperson Barabara Agrait said the decision “was not made lightly,” and denied any relation to the unionization development. Agrait cited efficiency and cost as the reasons for pulling out.
The only unionized warehouse in Canada is Laval Quebec’s warehouse that managed to unionize in May of last year.
The warehouse had 200 unionized employees under the ‘Confederation des syndicats nationaux’ (CSN) organization.
CSN promotes DEI style values, and hosts a 9-member committee uniquely dedicated to LGBTQ+ affairs in the Quebec union network.
