Portugal's CTT Postal Service to shed 1,000 jobs

Portugal’s state postal service company CTT reportedly announced it will shed up to 1,000 workers, roughly 6% of its total workforce next year, the newspaper Diario Economico said.

The posts will be trimmed through early retirements and the non-renewal of temporary contracts, the paper said, citing an unnamed company source.

Wages absorbed about 70% of the state postal firm’s revenues in 2001.

The company, one of Portugal’s biggest employers, also has a heavy pension burden, which led to a payout of around €306m last year.

CTT, which faced a two % decline in mail traffic this year, wants to streamline its operation ahead of an expected liberalisation of the postal sector within the EU in Jan 2003.

The postal firm’s new president, Carlos Horta e Costa, said CTT wants to increase its focus on its core business.

Banco Postal, which has only five branches up and running, is expected to post a loss of €5m in 2002, the paper said.

CTT had hoped to establish branches of the bank at its more than 1,000 post offices, to become a rival to the established Portuguese banks.

Prices for regular delivery of mail in Portugal are 32% lower than the average charged in the EU, according to a study published by Portugal’s telecommunications regulator ANACOM in June.