The Ridesharing Forum team won’t stall you. There’s bad news for Amazon deliveries in Quebec, but good news in India. Here’s the scoop.
Amazon quits Quebec
The Associated Press reported in January that Amazon would close seven warehouses in the Canadian province of Quebec and then eliminate around 1,700 jobs.
“This decision wasn’t made lightly, and we’re offering impacted employees a package that includes up to 14 weeks’ pay after facilities close and transitional benefits, like job placement resources,” Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait told the Associated Press.
Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne, reportedly expressed his dismay over this news.
“I expressed our dismay and frustration after learning in the news that they intend to let go of 1,700 employees and close all seven of their warehouses in Quebec,” Champagne said. “This is not the way business is done in Canada.”
Which is why yesterday, Canada’s business and tech newsrooms weighed in on this big news, saying it will be hard for the companies to fill the space left by Amazon, and catch up with what the eCommerce company has accomplished.
“In shutting down the entirety of its Quebec distribution network, Amazon has avoided having to contend with what would have been its first unionized workforce in North America. It might now have no warehouses in Quebec, but Amazon is still beholden to its mantra of fast, frictionless delivery,” the newsroom’s correspondent, Martin Patriquin, wrote.
He said the burden is upon the shoulders of a company perhaps not heard of before, that is, Intelcom, a courier firm out of a nondescript building in Montreal’s Griffintown neighborhood.
For the company, their hopes are high, anchoring them on the strong slate of executives. For instance, there’s Intelcom chief executive officer Jean-Sébastien Joly who took over in 2006 and has since been the driving force behind Intelcom’s transformation.
Then, there’s also Eric Boyko of Stingray Digital, who is among the company’s board members.
There are high hopes, indeed, but the media said, “No doubt, Amazon is a big opportunity for Intelcom. Yet the potential pitfalls are many… In agreeing to service the firehose that is Amazon, Intelcom must at once be fast and safe.”
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Meanwhile, in India
Meanwhile, in South Asia, last Thursday, Amazon officially launched Amazon Now, its 10-minute delivery service, in select areas of Bengaluru. This pivotal move marks a significant expansion beyond the company’s employee-only pilot program, which plans to extend the service to more areas in the next weeks.
As of now, the project is codenamed “Tez,” internally, and Amazon Now is currently placing focus on grocery and daily essentials, while actively tying up with brands in the beauty, home, and kitchen niches for its scale-up plan.
Amazon has quite a wide reach in India. The Amazon official website stated there are almost two million local businesses selling on Amazon India and counting. Bravo.