The federal Minister of Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, finds it “unacceptable” to have learned in the media that the closure of Amazon warehouses in Quebec will lead to more layoffs than initially announced.
Posted at 12:33 p.m.
Mathieu Paquette
The Canadian Press
The American e-commerce giant announced Wednesday that the closure of its seven distribution centers in Quebec would cause the layoff of 1,700 permanent employees and the loss of 250 temporary jobs.
However, on Thursday, certain media revealed that, according to data provided by the Quebec Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity, 1,459 layoffs will also take place at Amazon partner companies that handle delivery.
Mr. Champagne, who spoke to Amazon Canada management on Wednesday, said he was not made aware of these additional dismissals during this conversation.
Upon his arrival at his political party’s caucus on Friday morning in Ottawa, the minister did not mince his words to denounce a “lack of respect” on the part of Amazon.
“I had to call myself, and not only am I not given the whole story, I am given half the story, and I hear from the media that they are going to lay off more people,” he lamented.
“There, we are down to 3,000 people, so I find that completely unacceptable. That’s not the way we do business. […] In the circumstances, I think it’s disrespectful to have a discussion with the federal authorities and not be transparent. »
Minister Champagne argued that, in a G7 economy like Canada, “we expect our workers, our industries, Canada to be treated with respect.”
Amazon Canada had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Review of commercial links
On Thursday, François-Philippe Champagne also wrote directly to the president and CEO of Amazon, Andy Jassy, to invite the multinational to “immediately” reconsider the closure of its warehouses in Quebec.
-According to the minister, this decision by Amazon “goes against [son] desire to be a leader and strategic partner within Canada’s industrial economy.
“The decision you announced [mercredi] is not likely to inspire confidence and raises questions about your commitment to Canada and your Canadian partners,” he wrote in his missive, while expressing his “deep disappointment.”
Mr. Champagne argued to Mr. Jassy that “it is not too late” to reconsider this decision, recalling that “Amazon’s distribution centers in Quebec play a key role in the supply chain of the ‘business “.
Expressing concern about the “massive and sudden” layoffs that will take place in the wake of the closures, Minister Champagne issued a warning to the Seattle-based company.
“You will undoubtedly understand that this action requires a review of the commercial relationship that exists between Amazon and the Government of Canada,” he warned.
Mr. Champagne invited Mr. Jassy to discuss the issue further, reiterating that “Amazon derives significant benefits from the Canadian economy.”
Model change
Amazon will close its seven distribution centers in Quebec within the next two months.
The online sales giant justified its decision by saying it wanted to “return to a third-party delivery model supported by small local businesses, similar to this [qu’il avait] in 2020 ».
The president of the CSN, Caroline Senneville, instead accused Amazon of having acted in retaliation for the unionization that took place at the Laval warehouse, which the company denied.
Amazon Canada has indicated that furloughed employees will be entitled to “transitional benefits, such as external employment relocation resources” and compensation of up to 14 weeks.
With information from Stéphane Rolland and Émilie Bergeron
