Austria Post AG to close 357 offices nationwide next spring

Austria Post AG, the nation’s postal service, will close 357 post offices around the country next spring in a cost-cutting move, officials said Tuesday.

Ninety-two of the branches to be closed are in the province of Lower Austria, which encompasses the area around Vienna, the postal service said. Small, independent grocery stores will sell stamps and provide other postal services for customers in areas where branches will be shuttered, it said.

The closures are part of a downsizing that began in 1998, when Austria’s post office began reacting to the increased use of courier services such as DHL and Federal Express.

Postal services across the European Union have been taking similar steps to streamline and consolidate operations. The EU average is now 2.4 post offices per 10,000 people. With next year’s closures, the ratio in Austria will drop to 2.1, officials said.