Amazon, worker union before Quebec labour tribunal over warehouse closures

MONTREAL — A Quebec labour tribunal has begun hearing a case against Amazon over the e-commerce giant’s closure in January of seven warehouses in the province.

Some 1,700 employees lost their jobs following Amazon’s sudden termination of its Quebec warehouse operations months after workers at a Montreal-area facility unionized with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux.

In a news release, the CSN union said it is asking the tribunal to overturn Amazon’s decision to close the seven centres and force the company to pay all 1,700 workers one year’s salary.

The CSN says Amazon has asked the tribunal to exclude the six non-unionized warehouses and limit the scope of the hearing to 287 unionized workers at the facility in Laval, Que.

“We are hopeful that the court will see clearly and ensure that the labour laws and charters of rights that prevail in Quebec are respected,” CSN president Caroline Senneville said in a statement.

Amazon has said its closures were about delivering efficient and cost-effective services to customers, not a response to the union drive.

Steve Kelly, an Amazon spokesman, said employees were provided with a package that included up to 14 weeks’ pay after the warehouses were shuttered, in addition to other transition benefits like job placement.

“Throughout this process, we’ve complied and will continue to comply with all applicable federal and provincial laws,” Kelly said.

A spokesman for the union says the hearings are scheduled to take place intermittently over the next few months.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.

The Canadian Press