Springer mulls exit from postal business
German publisher Axel Springer is considering exiting its postal business after the German government’s decision this week to impose a minimum wage for workers in the sector, a company spokeswoman said.
Springer has been in talks with Dutch mail and parcel group TNT about merging their German mail services companies, TNT Post and Springer’s PIN Group, a personal familiar with the matter has told Reuters.
But German weekly magazine Focus reported on Saturday that the talks had broken down after the government set minimum wages of up to 9.80 euros ($14.45) per hour, depending on the employee’s level of responsibility.
The sum is far more than private competitors to former state monopoly Deutsche Post pay their employees.
The Springer spokeswoman told Reuters: “We are examining all options and currently cannot rule out anything as regards the future of PIN.” She declined to comment on the current state of negotiations with TNT.
Springer bought a majority stake in PIN for 510 million euros earlier this year in anticipation of the liberalisation of the postal market in Germany, where Deutsche Post is set to lose its domestic mail monopoly at the start of next year.
