Australia Post to cut 2000 jobs as it pushes for move to slower mail service

Australia Post will cut over 2000 jobs over the next three years in an attempt to shore up its business, as it reports losses approaching $500 million this year from its mail business.

The decline in ordinary mail volume has quickened to more than 10%, the largest decline ever recorded.

Ahmed Fahour, managing director and group chief executive, said in a statement released this morning the decline means Australia Post will report its first full-year company-wide loss in more than 30 years.

The losses will eclipse profits being made in Australia Post’s parcel business. 

Fahour pledged there will be no forced redundancy of those employees who actively seek a new role and said Australia Post would protect its national network of more than 4000 post offices.

He also said there would be “no change” to posties delivering five days a week.

But Fahour says urgent reform is needed of the letter service. 

“We have reached the tipping point that we have been warning about where, without reform, the business becomes unsustainable,” Fahour said.

“We welcomed the federal government’s decision to support reform so we can manage the mail service losses, meet the changing needs of our customers and continue to invest in growing parts of our business, such as parcels and trusted services.”

Fahour says Australia Post aims to continue to grow jobs in areas such as parcel delivery and services for consumers and small business, both in-store and online. “The changes we are making are essential so we can continue to invest in our business, particularly in these growth areas,” he says.

“We believe that with reform of the mail service we have a strong future for our customers and our people.”

As SmartCompany reported earlier this year, Australia Post is pushing for the option of a slower mail system. 

It wants to introduce a two-speed and tiered-pricing delivery service for its letter business, charging up to $1.50 for stamps for priority letters and $1 for regular delivery.

Next-day letter delivery for metropolitan areas could be extended to up to three days under the plan.

SmartCompany contacted the Post Offices Agents Association for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication.