Deutsche Post mulls acquisitions in Europe, but cutbacks in Germany

Deutsche Post, the semi-privatised German postal authority, plans to continue expanding in Europe via acquisitions, but will nevertheless streamline its activities in Germany, the group’s chairman Klaus Zumwinkel said in a newspaper interview published Thursday.

“We want to build up a letter delivery network across the whole of Europe,” by buying up small players in countries where the national companies have a strong market position, Zumwinkel told the daily Die Welt.

Deutsche Post would also buy stakes in other national companies in Europe when they were privatised, the chairman continued.

For example, the German giant planned to join the bidding for the Danish postal authority in which the government planned to sell a 25-percent stake. And it was also interested in buying a stake in Austria, pending a decision by the Austrian government.

Both companies were “attractive and progressive”, Zumwinkel said.

Die Welt quoted company sources as saying that a deal to buy a Spanish letter delivery firm was also ready for signing.

By contrast, Deutsche Post intended to streamline its activities in Germany where it would close some 800 post offices before the end of next year.

“In the next two years, we plan to reduce the number of outlets from 12,800 to the legal minimum of 12,000,” Zumwinkel said.

“The number 12,000 does not make sense from an economic point of view, but is laid down by the law. And we intend to comply fully with the law.”

Similarly, Deutsche Post would reduce the number of post boxes throughout the country from 140,000 at present.

As for the number of jobs to be cut, Zumwinkel refused to be pinned down with a precise number, but said the figure of 10,000 frequently mentioned in the media was wrong.

“It’ll be much lower than that,” Zumwinkel said.