WestJet is facing strong criticism from Canadian union Unifor over its decision to relocate hundreds of call centre positions from Calgary to El Salvador, a move the union labels as a betrayal of domestic workers.
Massive Job Transfer Underway
According to Unifor National President Lana Payne, the Calgary-based airline has already transferred 400 call centre positions to the Central American country, outsourcing the work to Telus Digital. The union expresses serious concerns that the remaining 800 call centre workers in Calgary could face similar fate as their hours are being reduced.
"What we were initially told was this work in El Salvador would be filling in for peak periods, but that's not what we're seeing now," stated Payne in an interview published on November 14, 2025.
Economic Motivations Behind the Move
The union leader revealed that the outsourcing appears driven by significant cost savings, with workers in El Salvador earning approximately $600 per month compared to substantially higher wages paid to Calgary staff. This comes at a time when WestJet's owner, private equity firm Onex Corp., announced plans to take the airline public with a potential initial public offering within two years.
"She said that's compelling WestJet to further show it's cutting costs to attract investors," the report noted, highlighting the financial pressures behind the decision.
Broader Economic Concerns
Payne emphasized the troubling timing of these job transfers, occurring during economic uncertainty and ongoing trade tensions with the United States. "We're being economically attacked in any number of sectors and that's going to grow...we expect Canadian companies to be doing a better job here," she asserted.
The union president also noted the poor optics for an airline when many Canadian travelers are avoiding trips to the U.S., suggesting that eliminating Canadian jobs could further damage consumer confidence.
Unionization Efforts Intensify
In response to the outsourcing threat, Unifor is accelerating efforts to organize WestJet's remaining call centre staff. Payne made it clear that if the airline attempts to use unionization as justification for further outsourcing, it would only strengthen their resolve.
"If they tried that, we'd have the union drive go a lot faster...the reality is there's protection available if they're unionized," she declared, indicating that formal union representation could provide job security for the remaining workers.
While WestJet maintains that changes to its call centre operations won't affect its employees, Unifor continues to monitor the situation closely as Telus Digital trains new classes of customer service agents in Central America, suggesting more job transfers may be imminent.
