OTTAWA — Amazon says its plans to shut all seven of its warehouses in Quebec stay unchanged, even because the federal trade minister requires a assessment of Ottawa’s “enterprise relationship” with the web retail big.
OTTAWA — Amazon says its plans to shut all seven of its warehouses in Quebec stay unchanged, even because the federal trade minister requires a assessment of Ottawa’s “enterprise relationship” with the web retail big.
“They’ll have me preventing to be sure that this isn’t going to go unanswered in Canada,” Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne mentioned Friday.
The closure will eradicate 1,700 everlasting jobs and 250 non permanent ones. It comes after employees at an Amazon warehouse within the Montreal suburb of Laval, Que. managed to unionize in Might.
Amazon is dismissing the suggestion that the closures are linked to a unionization push within the province and has mentioned it is about delivering environment friendly and cost-effective companies to prospects.
The corporate mentioned in a media assertion Friday that it is “glad to debate this matter additional with Minister Champagne and different officers in Quebec and Canada.”
Champagne mentioned in a web-based put up Friday that he wished to talk to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.
“Mr. Jassy, let’s speak,” he wrote.
However in a followup assertion issued later within the afternoon, Amazon indicated that Champagne will not be getting a sit-down with the corporate’s international CEO.
“Members of Amazon’s local team will continue to meet with the minister to discuss our business — as we typically do. Our plans remain unchanged,” a spokesperson mentioned.
Champagne hasn’t mentioned how the federal authorities would possibly 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 value greater than $5 million every — one contract is for $22.7 million.
“I am not going to inform them what I will do prematurely. That is referred to as negotiation 101,” he mentioned. “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. He posted the letter on-line Thursday night.
“We’re standing up. I can let you know they had been fairly shocked,” he mentioned. “I feel we had a couple of million views yesterday, so they don’t seem to be used to that type of response from Canada, and I am glad we did it.”
Champagne mentioned the corporate wasn’t clear concerning the extent of the layoffs within the dialog with Amazon, including he obtained 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 mentioned within the assertion that when it makes “operational choices like this, we usually share the information first with workers after which officers.”
— With information from Tara Deschamps
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Jan. 24, 2025.
Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
