Amazon is prepared to debate the closures of its Quebec warehouses with Canadian and provincial officers, confirmed Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Providers and Procurement of Canada — on Friday afternoon. What this all means remains to be very unclear.
This comes after the Minister François-Philippe Champagne revealed a letter to the American e-commerce large on social media Thursday evening calling them out for the 1,700 layoffs of standard Amazon staff and 250 seasonal staff within the subsequent two months and the closure of seven warehouses — as introduced on Wednesday.
Amazon justified its determination by saying it wished to “return to a third-party delivery model supported by small local businesses, similar to what (it had) in 2020.”
The Quebec Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity confirmed to CityNews that no less than 1,600 extra layoffs would even be coming for Quebec staff in supply associate corporations linked to Amazon — bringing the whole losses of jobs to about 3,000 for Quebecers.
“[Amazon] will sit with us and apparently also the Quebec government to make sure that we can share with them the disappointment of what they have announced. Not only what they have announced, but the way they have announced it to with no pre-warning, no explanation whatsoever to cut the jobs of more than 3,000 workers in Canada is not acceptable. It’s not an acceptable way of working with Canada and with Canadians,” mentioned Duclos in Ottawa on Friday.
Amazon tells CityNews that their plans stay unchanged.
“We regularly have discussions with officials across Canada to discuss matters of interest. However, when we make operational decisions like this, we generally share the news first with employees and then officials. We’re happy to discuss this matter further with Minister Champagne and other officials in Quebec and Canada,” Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly wrote in an announcement to CityNews on Friday afternoon.
“We are a good partner with that company and many others in Canada, but we also expect those partners to work appropriately with workers,” added Duclos.
“For instance, it is not acceptable to punish workers because they become unionized. In Canada, the right to become unionized is the right that is fundamental and is not only fundamental to the workers, but fundamental to the ability of foreign companies, multinational companies to be able to work with us in our country. So it’s a joint relationship and we expect their side of the relationship to be better dealt with.”
When requested by CityNews on Wednesday if the closures of their warehouses in Quebec had something to do with the current unionization of staff at their location in Laval, Amazon refuted the declare.
Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) mentioned they weren’t shopping for it, and really feel there should be a connection — as do federal politicians who spoke out.
NDP chief Jagmeet Singh mentioned Wednesday: “This is very clearly Amazon trying to union bust. […] This is wrong what’s happening to them. But I really am inspired by the fact that they were trying to fight for the rights. I’m really disappointed and frankly it’s disgraceful what Amazon’s doing.”
Champagne’s letter to Amazon
Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Business, despatched a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Thursday, inviting the multinational to “immediately” rethink closing its Quebec warehouses.
Champagne, Amazon’s determination, “goes against (its) desire to be a leader and strategic partner in Canada’s industrial economy.”
“The decision you announced (Wednesday) does not inspire confidence and raises questions about your commitment to Canada and your Canadian partners”, he wrote, expressing his ‘deep disappointment.’
Champagne advised Jassy that “it’s not too late” to rethink this determination, declaring that “Amazon’s distribution centers in Quebec play a key role in the company’s supply chain.”
Champagne hasn’t mentioned how the federal authorities may reply. Ottawa has ongoing contracts with Amazon and the federal authorities’s web site lists greater than 200 contracts signed since 2020. A number of of these contracts are price greater than $5 million every — one contract is for $22.7 million.
“I’m not going to tell them what I’m going to do in advance. That’s called negotiation 101,” he mentioned. “Let them reconsider, let them figure out what we might do as a review.”
Expressing concern concerning the “massive and sudden” layoffs that can happen within the wake of the closures, Minister Champagne issued a warning to the Seattle-based firm.
“You will undoubtedly understand that this action requires a review of the commercial relationship that exists between Amazon and the Canadian government,” he warned.
Champagne invited Jassy to debate the matter additional, reiterating that “Amazon derives significant benefits from the Canadian economy.”
On Friday, in Ottawa, Champagne advised reporters, “We’re standing up.”
“This is also about treating Canada with respect — not only we had a discussion yesterday, but in the way that it’s hard for me to understand they did not even mention to me that they would lay off more people after we had our conversation,” added Champagne about reviews that 1,500 layoffs at different corporations related to Amazon in Quebec had been going down.
“I have seen better corporate citizens in my life. When you have a discussion with a government a federal government or provincial government, you would expect corporate citizen and companies and businesses to be transparent to be open and I feel honestly this morning this was not the nature. I would have I would have assumed like anyone that they would tell me the full story, but what I got in the phone call yesterday was half of their story.”
“So you can imagine this morning, if yesterday I was not pleased, this morning I’m even less pleased than I was yesterday and that’s why the letter was important. They’ll have me fighting to make sure that this is not going to go on unanswered in Canada.”
On Wednesday, Champagne had additionally spoken to the top of Amazon Canada to precise Ottawa’s “disappointment” and “frustration” on this matter.
Montrealers calling for a boycott
Louisa Worrell, is asking for a boycott of Amazon. She was handing out flyers in downtown Montreal on Friday, seeking to get prospects onboard.
Louisa Worrell handing out flyers at Berri UQAM metro station on Jan. 24, 2025. (Erin Seize, CityNews)
“We have to let them know that where we can show them how we feel,” mentioned Worrell, co-founder of Ici, on boycotte Amazon. “We will show them how we feel. And that’s how we spend our money.”
“I closed my Amazon account and I closed Prime video, and all my subscriptions because I’m going to buy Quebec products and show solidarity,” mentioned one individual CityNews spoke to on Friday.
“It’s not just about boycotting for a day, it’s about doing it for the long run. And we know that Quebecers buy so much from Amazon. I hope it holds,” added one other Montrealer.
Others, mentioned they might seemingly proceed to make use of Amazon’s providers. “Probably, honestly just because it’s the easiest way to order stuff,” defined one man.
One other sympathized with staff going through layoffs, “It’s so hard for people and their families. I’m sad for them.”
Quebec job losses
Amazon Canada has indicated that dismissed staff might be entitled to “transitional benefits, such as external employment relocation resources” and compensation of as much as 14 weeks.
For his half, Premier François Legault assured that the Quebec authorities would “see everything (it) can do to help them find another job,” mentioning the development sector amongst others.
-With information from Erin Seize, and The Canadian Press: Stéphane Rolland and Mathieu Paquet
