The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Amazon Canada is closing all seven of its Quebec warehouses and laying off 1,700 permanent staff following a union drive. The Globe's Pippa Norman and Nicolas Van Praet write that the on-line shopping giant is returning to a third party delivery system, which it used in the province before 2020. Affected employees are being offered up to 14 weeks of pay after facilities close and transitional benefits such as job placement resources. In May, staff at a warehouse in Laval became the first Amazon workers in Canada to unionize -- and only the second in North America, after a warehouse in Staten Island, N.Y. In October, Quebec's Tribunal administratif du travail ruled against the company after it challenged the unionization, claiming that the process by which employees unionized was unlawful. The closings will take place over the next two months and will include one fulfilment centre, two sorting centres, three delivery stations and one large-parcel delivery station, which is co-located with a sorting centre. Stephanie Ross, associate professor of labour studies at McMaster University, said Amazon's announcement casts a chill on organizing efforts nationwide.