More than 3,000 people have lost their jobs in collective layoffs since the start of the year, a phenomenon that is likely to increase, according to an expert.
“We are heading towards an increase in layoffs. There is the lightning advent of e-commerce. The detail is touched, ”says Jean-Claude Bernatchez, professor of labor relations at the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières.
“Inflation has caused a reduction in the demand for certain services, in particular catering,” he underlines.
There is a collective dismissal when the employer dismisses 10 or more workers.
From 1is April 2022 to March 31, 2023, the Ministry of Labor lists 9529, notes the industrial relations expert.
According to him, some layoffs could reflect a new way of organizing work more marked than before by artificial intelligence.
“In ports, jobs will change. They will continue to hire, but the nature of the work will be turned upside down,” says Professor Jean-Claude Bernatchez.
Stagnating hiring
For Matthieu Arseneau, deputy chief economist at the National Bank, we must be careful with collective layoffs since we do not know if the workers affected have found new jobs.
“There are clearly signs of a slowdown in the labor market for the first months of the year. There has been no full-time job creation for two months,” warns Mr. Arseneau, however.
“We may be more at the hiring freeze stage at this time, rather than major losses. We are talking about stagnation in hiring given the caution of companies, ”he summarizes.
– With the collaboration of Sylvain Larocque