Amazon has, over the last decade, steadily moved towards regionalizing its operations so as to get products to its customers as quickly and cheaply as possible. This has meant making massive investments in its ‘fulfillment centres’. This pattern is clear in most major US markets and also in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). But it does not hold for Montreal. Below we summarize the position of Montreal relative to Toronto.
1. Amazon workforce
Amazon has about 43,000 workers in Canada according to its 2023 data (this includes tech workers). About 25,000 of these workers work in Ontario (almost 60%) and the GTHA alone (Greater Toronto Area plus Hamilton) includes about 21,000 workers – almost 1/2 of Amazon’s total Canadian workforce.
2. FCs in Canada
Amazon has 20 FCs in Canada and over half (11) are located in Ontario and of these, 7 are in the GTHA. Another 3 FCs lie between the GTHA and Quebec (1 in Belleville and 2 in Ottawa). Quebec has only one FC (plus another warehouse that is sometimes categorized as sortation centre and other times as a small FC). There are reports of another FC being on the way. Quebec also has 5 smaller operations (sortation centres and delivery stations) with one of them representing the only Amazon facility with union certification in Canada.
3. Comparing Amazon in the GTHA and Greater Montreal
Greater Montreal (4.3 million) has a bit less than 60% of the population of the GTHA but the GTHA has 7 facilities to Montreal’s single facility. And the overall employment ratio is about 11/1. Clearly the Montreal market, unlike other major markets, is being met from facilities in other regions: Toronto, Ottawa, and the New York/New Jersey region (New Jersey has about the same number of FCs as all of Canada).
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