Jobs to go at Post Danmark
Post Danmark is preparing to lay off several hundred employees despite posting a multi-million kroner profit for the first half of the year, reports The Copenhagen Post. The article continues:
The national postal service’s financial results for the first half of the year show profits of 253m kroner, down from 616m kroner for the same period last year.
Managing director K.B. Pedersen yesterday announced 600 employees would be made redundant in the next six months. Post Danmark cut about 1,000 jobs last year.
The company’s financial statement shows that fewer letters and packages were posted this year, especially by small businesses.
In June, the state-owned mail service merged with its Swedish counterpart Posten AB to form Posten Norden, with Pedersen at the administrative helm. The merger was made in an effort to fight off the increased competition from private carriers expected to result from the European Union’s liberalisation of the postal market in 2011.
Petersen said the layoffs were necessary, but added the merger would help to lower operational costs considerably.
Expenses would be saved in information technology and other areas where jobs had doubled up, Pedersen said.