A Mail will not be lost in the medium term, according to Swiss Post President
Published: Friday, Mar 15th 2024, 03:30
Updated At: Friday, Mar 15th 2024, 03:10
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A Mail is to be retained in the short to medium term. The frequency of delivery is also not to change, said the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Swiss Post, Christian Levrat, in an interview with Tamedia published on Friday.
"The fact is that letter volumes are declining," said Levrat when asked by Tamedia whether A Mail is negotiable in the long term. The trend is towards more parcels and fewer letters.
Based on current trends, letter volumes could fall below the billion mark between 2028 and 2034, said Group CEO Roberto Cirillo in an interview with CH Media, also published on Friday. Today, 1.65 billion letters are delivered. A good quarter are franked with A Mail. More than half of the letters are B2 letters, i.e. bulk letters that are delivered in five to six days, said Cirillo.
A distinction must be made between Swiss Post's commercial offering and the requirements of the federal government, said Levrat. The discussions that have arisen about the type and scope of the universal service provided by Swiss Post are legitimate. "They specify what Swiss Post must offer as a minimum", said the Chairman of the Board of Directors. What Swiss Post offers over and above the basic service is ultimately determined by customers.
Job cuts are not the main focus
Levrat was cautious about what the Swiss Post branch network will look like in the next ten years. The planning is initially for the next four years. Discussions about the branches are ongoing. He was therefore unable to be more specific. "In the long term, however, the plan is to increase the number of service points," said Levrat. Here, too, demand is the decisive factor.
Levrat could not rule out the possibility of "selective adjustments to the workforce". Massive job cuts are not currently in the foreground. Rather, Swiss Post is concerned with finding enough employees. By 2030, a third of the workforce will have left the company, mainly due to retirement.
Swiss Post presented its 2023 Annual Report in Bern on Thursday. Last year, it generated a Group profit of 254 million francs. In 2022, the figure was 295 million francs. The result was heavily influenced by the decline in letter and parcel volumes. "We need around seven to eight parcels to earn the same amount as with a single letter," said Cirillo in the above-mentioned interview. The Postal Network segment also suffered further losses due to the decline in payment transactions at post office counters.
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