The closures will eliminate about 1,700 permanent full-time jobs in the greater Montreal area, Amazon said. The warehouses also employ 250 temporary employees.

A company spokesperson said Amazon will outsource deliveries to smaller contractors. The spokesperson insisted that the decision was tied to cost savings — not the recent unionization of about 300 employees at the Laval,

The online retail giant said the move was not linked to recent unionization efforts by workers in the Canadian province.