Plans to shut all seven of Amazon warehouses in Quebec are unchanged, the corporate stated Friday even because the federal business minister referred to as for a assessment of Ottawa’s “enterprise relationship” with the net retail big.
“They’ll have me preventing to guarantee that this isn’t going to go unanswered in Canada,” Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne stated Friday.
The closure will get rid of 1,700 everlasting jobs and 250 short-term ones. It comes after staff at an Amazon warehouse within the Montreal suburb of Laval, Que. managed to unionize in Might.
Amazon dismissed the suggestion that the closures are linked to a unionization push within the province and has stated it’s about delivering environment friendly and cost-effective companies to prospects.
Initially the corporate stated in a media assertion Friday that it’s “joyful to debate this matter additional with Minister Champagne and different officers in Quebec and Canada.”
Champagne stated in a web based submit Friday that he needed to talk to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.
“Mr. Jassy, let’s speak,” he wrote.
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However in a followup assertion issued later within the afternoon, Amazon indicated that Champagne received’t be getting a sit-down with the corporate’s world CEO.
“Members of Amazon’s native group will proceed to satisfy with the minister to debate our enterprise — as we usually do. Our plans stay unchanged,” a spokesperson stated.
Champagne hasn’t stated how the federal authorities may reply. The federal authorities’s web site lists greater than 200 contracts signed with Amazon since 2020.
A number of of these contracts are price greater than $5 million every. The most important, a 2020-2023 deal for “programs companies” together with services administration for the Canada Border Companies Company was for $22.7 million.
One other was for a $12.7 million deal to supply pc companies to Well being Canada.
“I’m not going to inform them what I’m going to do upfront. That’s referred to as negotiation 101,” he stated. “Allow them to rethink, allow them to determine what we would do as a assessment.”
Champagne additionally despatched a letter to Jassy saying it’s not too late to rethink the choice to shut the warehouses. He posted the letter on-line Thursday night.
“We’re standing up. I can inform you they have been fairly shocked,” he stated. “I feel we had a couple of million views (on the letter) yesterday, so that they’re not used to that type of response from Canada, and I’m glad we did it.”
Champagne stated the corporate wasn’t clear concerning the extent of the layoffs within the dialog with Amazon, including he bought solely half the story when he spoke with a consultant. A spokesperson for Champagne confirmed he spoke with Amazon Canada’s nation supervisor Eva Lorenz Wednesday.
“That is additionally about treating Canada with respect,” he informed reporters Friday. “I’m even much less happy than I used to be yesterday.”
Amazon stated within the assertion that when it makes “operational selections like this, we usually share the information first with workers after which officers.”
Public Companies Minister Jean-Yves Duclos informed reporters it’s “not acceptable to punish staff” as a result of they unionized.
“In Canada, the precise to turn out to be unionized is a proper that’s basic, and isn’t solely basic to the employees however basic to the flexibility of overseas firms, multinational firms, to have the ability to work with us in our nation.”
— With information from Tara Deschamps
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Jan. 24, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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