Amazon introduced on Wednesday it’ll shutter its services in Quebec within the coming weeks and reduce greater than 1,700 jobs.
An organization spokesperson mentioned Amazon will outsource deliveries to smaller contractors. The spokesperson insisted that the choice was tied to price financial savings — not the current unionization of about 200 workers at a Laval, Que., warehouse.
“Following a current evaluate of our Quebec operations,” the spokesperson mentioned in an emailed assertion, “we discovered that returning to a third-party supply mannequin supported by native small companies, much like the one we had till 2020, will allow us to supply the identical wonderful service and ship even better financial savings to our clients in the long run.”
It was not instantly clear when Amazon would shut its services, however the spokesperson advised Radio-Canada it will occur within the “subsequent two months.”
Quebec is residence to Amazon’s solely unionized workforce in Canada. The unionized staff in Laval have been dissatisfied with what they described as a busy work tempo, low wages and insufficient well being and security measures.
At a current demonstration, the employees mentioned they have been demanding $26 per hour, a $6 enhance.
Amazon had mentioned it was negotiating with the employees, however that they had not but reached a collective settlement.
The corporate has a number of warehouses within the Montreal space, and one in Coteau-du-Lac, about 60 kilometres west of town. Amazon grew to become a $2 trillion firm final 12 months. It has services and hundreds of workers throughout Canada.
The spokesperson mentioned the scaling again of its Quebec operations would outcome within the closure of seven websites.
Staff might be given as a lot as 14 weeks wage.
Extra to come back.
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