Jan 22 (Reuters) - E-commerce giant Amazon.com ( AMZN )

is exiting its operations in Quebec, leading to the loss of

about 1,700 full-time jobs, a company spokesperson said on

Wednesday.

The online retailer will phase out operations across seven

sites in the province - the only location in Canada with

unionized Amazon ( AMZN ) employees - over the next two months.

It will return to a third-party delivery model, relying

on local small businesses, similar to its approach before 2020.

"Following a recent review of our Quebec operations,

we've seen that returning to a third-party delivery model ...

will allow us to provide even more savings to our customers,"

Amazon ( AMZN ) spokesperson Barbara Agrait said.

The move will also affect approximately 250 seasonal

workers. Amazon ( AMZN ) will offer affected employees a package

including up to 14 weeks' pay and "transitional benefits such as

job placement resources," Agrait added.

In May, Amazon ( AMZN ) warehouse workers represented by the Canadian

labor union Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN)

unionized, citing dissatisfaction with wages and inadequate

health and safety measures at the facilities.

The CSN, which represents 300 workers at the site north of

Montreal, said in a statement on Wednesday that Amazon's ( AMZN )

decision made no business sense and directly targets the

company's only unionized warehouse in Canada.

The workers were in the process of negotiating their first

collective agreement.

"There is no doubt that the closings announced today are

part of an anti-union campaign against CSN and Amazon ( AMZN )

employees," said CSN president Caroline Senneville in a

French-language statement.

"This move contradicts the provisions of the Quebec Labour

Code, which we will strongly oppose," Senneville added, without

providing immediate specifics.