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Post plans to downgrade jobs and sell offices to reduce costs

DDP/The Local
DDP/The Local - [email protected]
Post plans to downgrade jobs and sell offices to reduce costs
Photo: DPA

Deutsche Post is preparing to implement a massive savings programme from late summer, including the sale of a number of post offices, consolidation of package and letter delivery services – and downgrading jobs to reduce wages.

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Business magazine Wirtschaftswoche reported on Sunday that around 50 top Post managers had been shown the concept which should save around a billion euros within a year – five times what had until now been considered.

Post chairman Jürgen Gerdes is hoping to raise significant sums through the sale of the 350 or so post offices still owned by the company. Postbank, the former subsidiary of Deutsche Post, has registered interest in 277 of these, and could pay more than €100 million for them as well as taking on the operating staff, the magazine reported.

The greatest savings potential is seen as being within personnel costs. The letter delivery sector currently employs 143,000 people, half of whom are involved in active delivery.

Although redundancies have been ruled out until at least the middle of next year, the magazine reported that the Post is increasingly transferring work to its low-paying subsidiary First Mail.

There workers are paid €9.80 an hour, compared to an average Post wage of €14.00. First Mail is said to have increased the numbers of trainees in preparation for taking over more work.

Some areas will get joint package and letter deliveries, as is already the case in parts of Hamburg, the magazine also reported, while in the longer term, the network of 82 letter depots and 33 package depots could be reduced in number.

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