Amazon is set to face legal action from a Canadian union after the company’s decision to wind down warehouse operations in Quebec.
The Federation of National Trade Unions, known as CSN, said Tuesday it plans to petition a court to order Amazon to reopen seven warehouses and restore the 1,700 jobs lost as a result of the closures.
Amazon announced in late January it would phase out seven sites in Quebec “following a recent review” of its operations in the province, which is the only location in Canada with unionized Amazon employees. The company said it would return to a third-party delivery model, enlisting subcontractors to handle deliveries.
The CSN estimated that roughly 4,500 jobs were cut by Amazon and its subcontractors as a result of the closures.
“Amazon thinks it can just shift the work to other corporate entities and outsource some warehousing and delivery operations,” CSN President Caroline Senneville said in a statement. “What it calls the ‘new business model’ …