Amazon is moving to third-party delivery and is closing seven of its warehouses in Quebec in exchange – with 1,700 regular employees to be laid off between now and March.
Amazon has warehouses in Laval, Lachine, Longueuil, and Côteaux-du-Lac. The closure of the sites will be a rolling process and is expected not to happen all at once over the next two months.
An Amazon spokesperson assured Quebec customers that “nothing else changes.”
“Following a recent review of our Quebec operations, we have seen that returning to a third-party delivery model supported by local small businesses, as we had until 2020, will allow us to provide the same excellent service and even more. Will allow savings, said Barbara Egret.
“This decision was not made lightly, and we are offering affected employees a package that includes interim benefits such as severance pay and job placement resources for up to 14 weeks following the facility closure.”
In addition to the 1,700 regular employees being laid off, another 250 temporary seasonal employees, whose contracts have already set expiration dates, are being affected.
La Presse is reporting that the employees affected by the decision are managers, employees of delivery centers and sorting centers. Thousands of independent contractors who deliver to customers’ homes are also affected.
Quebec’s employment minister told CitiNews in a statement that the government will offer support to laid-off workers.
“My heart goes out to the affected employees,” wrote Minister Kateri Champagne-Jordin. “We will set up a redeployment assistance committee.” We will be with the workers!
Amazon employees recently received union certification. Laval warehouse. When asked if the unionization had anything to do with the closures announced Wednesday, the company responded by saying the closures were aimed at providing better service to customers.
CityNews reached out to the CSN union for employees at the Laval DXT4 warehouse, along with Quebec’s labor minister, but did not immediately receive a response.
