Amazon closes 7 warehouses in Canada! 4500 employees suddenly laid off
Previously, after online retail giant Amazon announced its withdrawal from Quebec, the Canadian government had requested Amazon to "immediately" reconsider its decision to close all of its distribution centers in Quebec. The union representing the only Amazon warehouse worker in Canada recently announced that the online retail giant has started closing seven of its warehouses in Quebec this week, resulting in thousands of employees losing their jobs.
According to the Canadian news agency, F é lix Trudeau, the president of the Laval Warehouse Union in Quebec, founded the union in May last year. He said that three warehouses in the Montreal area (including his own) closed late on Friday night, one day earlier than expected.
He also pointed out that some workers went to work last night only to find that the warehouse was closed, and the fourth warehouse, which was originally expected to close in March, was closed earlier this week.
Image source: CTV
According to reports, Amazon is cutting about 1700 permanent jobs, but the Conf é d é ration des federations nationalaux, a Quebec labor organization, stated that if workers hired by subcontractors are included, the number of CEOs will rise to about 4500.
F é lix Trudeau accuses the e-commerce giant of closing its warehouses in the province to punish employees who formed a union at its factory in May last year. He called on governments at all levels to boycott the company until it reopened its factories or agreed to pay a year's salary and benefits to all laid-off employees.
Amazon has not yet responded to our request for comment.
According to previous reports, Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait announced on January 22 that it will cease operations at seven operational sites, one distribution center, two sorting centers, three distribution stations, and an AMXL (oversized) distribution station located at the same location as the sorting center over the next two months.
Agrait denies that this decision was made after 200 employees of Amazon's DXT4 warehouse in Laval, Quebec formed a union.
She explained that 1700 regular employees and 250 temporary seasonal workers in Quebec will be affected.
Seasonal workers will be compensated until the last day of the contract, "she said.
On the second day of Amazon's announcement, Federal Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry Fran ç ois Philippe Champagne shared a letter he wrote to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on social media platform X on Thursday.
Image source: aboutamazon.ca
Champagne expressed strong disappointment while pointing out that Quebec is an important hub for the company in the Canadian supply chain. He stated that Amazon's decision goes against its goal of being a leader and strategic partner in Canada's industrial economy.
The decision you announced cannot bring confidence and raises doubts about your commitment to Canada and its partners. The large-scale and sudden layoffs are worrying, "he wrote, calling on Amazon to reconsider this decision.
Image source: X
The report also stated that the government had threatened to re-examine its business relationship with the online retail giant if Amazon did not take action.
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https://globalnews.ca/news/11010622/amazon-quebec-warehouses/