this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2025
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Amazon is quitting Quebec to ‘shock and awe’ workers worldwide (breachmedia.ca)
submitted 3 days ago by NightOwl@lemmy.ca to c/canada@lemmy.ca
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[–] Xavier@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I am of the opinion that it will help Québec in the long run and give local companies some breathing room to innovate, test, fail, iterate, refine and discover better way to ship to customers (I pray for something better than Intelcom/Dragonfly 🙏🤣 ).

Amazon just dropped a huge marketshare of online purchases in Québec (51% of total value in dollars), they almost had the control on how local businesses would have to reach customers online and suck every profit out of each transactions.

Moreover, Amazon will now have to deal with higher rate of return, damaged and lost packages while on less than stellar delivery (I blame specifically Intelcom).

[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 46 points 3 days ago

Fuck you Amazon. I'm going to inconvenience myself a lot more from now on to stop giving you money.

[–] endeavor@sopuli.xyz 27 points 3 days ago

Issue is more with American laws allowing for anti-humane treatment of workers, as has been the countries tradition since it was founded 2 decades ago.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 36 points 3 days ago (6 children)

The solution would be easy if everyone would do it. Stop buying from Amazon. I'm trying to buy anything I need directly from the provider or at good old fashioned stores.

[–] BigBenis@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I've been doing this since 2020. Just the other day I let it slip to some co-workers that I don't have a prime membership and the shock on their faces kinda spooked me.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago

For watching prime, I aarrrrr

[–] FolknForage@lemm.ee 11 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Amazon has been my last purchasing option for many years now - brick & mortar, CL/FB market used, eBay and then Amazon if all fails and I really need the thing.

Edit - the added benefit of this approach is that friction introduced in the process allows me a cool down period to evaluate whether something is truly needed. Reducing the friction is precisely part of Amazon’s business strategy, and why they had a patent on 1-click shopping until a few yrs ago.

[–] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 3 points 2 days ago

Even if something you actually need is only on Bezos' website, I've had some luck contacting a seller directly and arranging a sale that way.

[–] Slax@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago

An alternative to eBay and PayPal is needed! Thiel is up there too with Musk and Bozo.

[–] mrtuttle@lemmy.sdf.org 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

i use bookshop.org whenever i need to order a book online. a portion of the sale goes to my local book coop.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 5 points 3 days ago

There ya go! Will get my books from there now

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 days ago

I look locally for items online first, but where I am at some computer/hardware/tool items are hard to get especially with Canadian Tire turning into a terrible place to buy tools. Amazon is good for folks like my mom that doesn't drive and is not very mobile. Amazon will delivery heavy items to her door so she doesn't have to hobble out to a store

[–] Tehdastehdas@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

The solution would be easy if everyone would do it.

Always true, applies everywhere.

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[–] ShareMySims@lemmy.dbzer0.com 126 points 3 days ago (5 children)

The rich love convincing themselves (and the general population) that the working class and therefore society at large depends entirely on them and on their gracious "job creating" generosity to not only survive, but exist.

In reality it is the exact opposite that is true - without the workers to exploit, they are nothing, and if the workers of the world unite, we can get rid of them, and their oppressive systems, for good.

Imagine the shock and awe they would experience when that finally happens.

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[–] FolknForage@lemm.ee 22 points 2 days ago

Oh no - what are quebequois (sp?) going to do without an Amazon warehouse in their region?!? How will they survive?!?

[–] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 36 points 3 days ago

Amazon can go fuck itself!

[–] fourish@lemmy.world 40 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Maybe having some laws that if a company decides to close a business after unionization then any remaining Canadian company assets are taxed at a rate to pay a reasonable living wage to those displaced. The alternative being complete withdrawal from the country.

[–] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 29 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Even better, having laws that above a certain size, companies MUST have unions.

[–] OneWomanCreamTeam@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

Fuck that would fix so many problems

[–] InFerNo@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 days ago

20 or 50 people in my country, depending on sector, apparantly. Just had to look it up.

Used to know someone who had a chain of stores. He never went over the limit, he simply owned many smaller businesses that worked together under a unified brand name...

[–] fourish@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Yup I like it.

[–] skizzles@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I made a similar comment in another thread about this.

Anytime something like this happens where it is clear that they are doing it for a specific reason (regardless of whatever garbage excuse they make) they should be required to pay at a bare minimum one years salary to every employee at their current or a higher rate to offset the loss of their job due to corporate greed.

I also think the CEO should be arrested, and fuck it, while we're at it, any shares that they have in the company should be sold off and either given to the employees in an even split, or given to local unions and programs that support the local workforce.

Fuck these greedy ass little bitches and their investors. Tank their fucking stock and throw them in jail.

[–] fourish@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

At their immediate manager’s pay rate if not the CEO’s pay rate.

[–] LeFantome@programming.dev 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I did not want to mix this with my other comment.

Globalization is collective bargaining in reverse. As we see here, if you unionize, the company just moves somewhere else. If you passed any of the laws you propose here, the company would simply avoid Canada all together. The outcome of that, zero jobs, is the same as what is happening now. Not an improvement.

As long as there are “other” workers and jurisdictions lining up to replace us, that “willing” replacement labour is the problem. It will be robots soon.

By the way, you get “arrested” for breaking the law. The “legal” responsibility of the CEO is to maximum returns for investors. We live in a system where the laws are the exact opposite of what you are proposing.

I do not see a legal solution that helps. A social movement will not help.

The only solution is investors.

[–] skizzles@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

That is an absolutely fair assessment and you are right.

I think there could be some wiggle room in terms of legality here though, the issue is global enforcement.

Sure, the CEO is responsible for maximizing profits, but when they lay off potentially thousands of people, essentially union busting at the highest level, they should be arrested and jailed. Following orders is not an excuse. "I shot that kid because my commander told me to, even though we had no proper intel and there was no sign of imminent danger" turns into "I just possibly made 1000 people lose their homes and many of them could potentially lose their life due to duress from my actions because someone wanted to make a million dollars more". So fuck it, if someone dies due to a chain reaction of events that all started when they lost their job, let's charge the CEO with murder, and since it's all coming from the investors, let's charge them with murder too since they are the ones giving the orders.

Anybody making more than a million dollars a year needs to be held to such a high standard that makes their life extremely uncomfortable, until the point where humans live on an equal scale. That will never happen though.

At the end of the day I'm not arguing with you at all. I agree with you. The investors are one of if not the main root problem and we absolutely live in a society that promotes this.

I am absolutely disgusted by how things are in the world today. Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes, but these oligarchs are not making mistakes. They don't care, and they need to pay for their actions.

Edit just because: I know that my thought process is way out there, and we will never have things work in a way that benefits everyone, but it's very disheartening to see people suffer. It makes me seethe with rage at how this stuff just continues to be allowed to degrade society and human rights just so some selfish fucks can have more money than they will ever be able to spend. So a touch of wishful thinking and a sprinkle of hope, with a whole lotta rage is my mind. I just want to be able to raise my kid and not have to worry about the shit situation they will probably have to deal with 20 years from now. Or not see kids sleeping under bridges by themselves or hear/see any other of the absolutely irrational things going on in the world because of people in power. It fucking hurts.

[–] LeFantome@programming.dev 2 points 3 days ago

The smartest part of this comment is “and their investors”. The CEO makes us mad be he is a distraction. This behaviour is driven by the desire to increase return for investors. The CEO is just one of them. The company has to do what investors want. This is probably what they want.

We cannot “tank the stock” unless we sell it. So, again, this is an action by investors.

Unless you just want something to be mad about, stay focussed on the actual problem.

[–] archonet@lemy.lol 74 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Good, keep forming unions and keep making them shut down facilities. They're shitty places to work and fund a shitty human being, who funds other shitty human beings.

[–] UniversalMonk@lonestarlemmy.mooo.com 1 points 1 day ago

Yep, they should def keep forming unions. I like Amazon though. It's been a great employer in my town.

[–] Chuymatt@beehaw.org 11 points 3 days ago

Using the website keeps getting more and more shitty to use. Try to not fund them, folks.

[–] uhmbah@lemmy.ca 30 points 3 days ago (1 children)

This is not new. Walmart has done it as well.

Canadian government could give a shit.

https://www.ufcw.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=668&Itemid=6&lang=en

[–] nik282000@lemmy.ca 13 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The Canadian government is in favor of anti-union behaviour. See the last year of strikes and government intervention.

[–] NotSteve_@lemmy.ca 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Yup. One of the reasons I don't like Trudeau. (Would take him over PP though)

[–] uhmbah@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Such a shitty situation. The devil you know, or the even worse devil you know.

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

He resigned so....

[–] UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago

We are all much more alike then we want to admit?

[–] breadsmasher@lemmy.world 40 points 3 days ago (1 children)

can you quit earth entirely please

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 days ago

An international Amazon union could accomplish that.

[–] cyborganism@lemmy.ca 15 points 3 days ago

#ByeByeBezos

[–] ALiteralCabbage@feddit.uk 11 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Is unionising not protected in Canada?

[–] Tuxman@sh.itjust.works 18 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Yes, but only one of the 7 warehouses was unionized. So they are adamantly stating it had nothing to do with that (yeah, right…)

I guess mercury was in retrograde?

[–] ALiteralCabbage@feddit.uk 16 points 3 days ago (1 children)

So, it's criminal to fire an individual after they join a union, but shutting a site is coincidence. Gotcha.

[–] Tuxman@sh.itjust.works 12 points 3 days ago (1 children)

You’re hired as regional operations manager! You’re gonna go far! 👍

[–] ALiteralCabbage@feddit.uk 6 points 3 days ago

Oh yeah, we're gonna bring in some entry-level graduates, farm some work out to Singapore, that's the usual deal.

[–] Frederic@beehaw.org 3 points 3 days ago

Yes, but Amazon said that before 2020 they used only 3rd party last mile delivery and it worked fine, so they are going back to it, "this has nothing to do with union".

[–] Olhonestjim@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Is there a way to download wish lists? I want my book list before I delete Amazon.

[–] RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works 20 points 3 days ago

Screenshot and move on.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 days ago

I got a bunch of hits searching with "Export Amazon Wishlist"

[–] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 10 points 3 days ago

Can we get the Panier Bleue back then?

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