On Wednesday, Amazon.com Inc. AMZN announced that it was withdrawing its operations in Quebec, Canada, and losing about 1,700 full-time jobs.

The move will also affect approximately 250 seasonal workers. Amazon agreed to compensate for the loss with a package including up to 14 weeks’ pay and job placement resources, Reuters cites Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait.

The American e-commerce giant’s move followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to slap 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico on February 1.

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Amazon has seven sites in Quebec, including sorting centers and warehouses, most of which are in the Montreal area.

Over the next two months, Amazon will phase out operations across seven sites in the province, the only location in Canada with unionized Amazon employees. To save costs, it will return to a third-party delivery model.

According to a CTV news report, Amazon had lost the challenge against workers to unionize in the labor tribunal in October.

In 2023, Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched its second infrastructure region in Canada, the AWS Canada West (Calgary) Region. 

The Amazon cloud unit released an economic impact study projecting a $17.9 billion investment in Canada through 2037, surrounding the new Calgary region and the existing Quebec region, supporting over 9,300 full-time equivalent jobs annually. 

Amazon stock surged 51% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock through Vanguard Consumer Discretion ETF VCR and SPDR Select Sector Fund – Consumer Discretionary XLY.

Price Action: AMZN stock traded lower by 0.32% to $234.25 premarket at the last check on Wednesday.

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