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Amazon faces trial in Quebec over warehouse closures

by HR Law Canada
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Amazon will go before Quebec’s Administrative Labour Tribunal (ALT) on Friday as the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) challenges the company’s decision to shut down seven warehouses earlier this year.

The union alleges the closures, announced in January 2025, were aimed at eliminating union presence in the province rather than stemming from business needs. The CSN filed its complaint on Feb. 20, 2025, calling the move a “massive subterfuge” to escape obligations under the Labour Code.

Union claims closures targeted organizing efforts

The case will open with testimony from Jasmin Begagic, president of Amazon Canada Fulfillment Services. He is expected to argue the decision was purely a business choice unrelated to unionization at the Laval DXT4 warehouse or organizing drives at other Quebec facilities.

CSN president Caroline Senneville said the closures were meant “to shut down the organizing effort and avoid signing its first collective agreement in North America.”

The union is asking the tribunal to order Amazon to reopen the warehouses, compensate each employee with more than a year’s salary, and award moral and punitive damages.

Closures conflict with expansion strategy, CSN argues

The complaint points to Amazon’s 2022–23 expansion in Quebec, when it opened four new facilities — including the unionized DXT4 warehouse — as part of its “last mile” delivery strategy.

Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy highlighted the importance of these same-day delivery facilities in October 2024, describing them as “not only the fastest way to get products to customers but also one of our lowest-cost ways to deliver.”

The CSN says it makes little sense for the company to abandon the model only months later, alleging Amazon is “prepared to take the most extreme measures and sacrifice profitability” to block a first collective agreement.

Unionization and ongoing cases

The ALT certified the CSN as the bargaining agent for 230 workers at DXT4 in May 2024 after a majority signed union cards. Bargaining began that summer. Eight months later, Amazon announced the closures and outsourced operations.

The ALT has already found Amazon guilty of anti-union interference and obstruction at its YUL2 facility in Lachine. A separate case involving the DXT4 warehouse is still before the tribunal.

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