“As we are all too familiar, the pandemic has had serious negative implications on many families and businesses,” CAA said in a email to members on Wednesday.
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“Unfortunately, CAA has not been spared, with travel insurance, travel and retail suffering significant lost business over the last two years and expectations that recovery will be slow post pandemic.”
CAA said it had to “revisit our business strategy and have made the difficult decision to consolidate a number of our retail stores in close proximity to each other.”
The association did not say how many employees are affected by the closures.
The store in Kitchener is currently closed but will reopen in late spring.
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Membership, insurance and travel services can be accessed at www.caasco.com.
The four stores in this area and one in London were hit by a strike beginning in October.
Eighteen employees, members of the Teamsters Union Local 879, walked out after the union and CAA were unable to reach a collective agreement that was a “fair deal,” the union said in a statement at the time.
CAA spokesperson Tony Tsai previously said the association had made “extraordinary commitments” to minimize the impact of the pandemic on workers, including a no-layoff rule.
The stores were closed during the strike. Workers were apparently still on strike as of last month.
The association is a non-profit that offers roadside assistance and insurance, as well as travel and other services. Roadside assistance was not affected by the strike.
