More than 100 post offices to be closed in Hungary
The Hungarian Postal Service (Magyar Posta Zrt.) is planning to close 103 post offices before the end of the year, and sell another 1,000 in 2008, writes fn.hu, based on a report in business daily Napi Gazdaság.
Starting today, 38 existing post offices will be closed, and another 65 will be shuttered on March 1.
Services will be cut where there are currently more post offices operated than specified by law. In Budapest, for example, there are 169 post offices, but only 86 are legally required.
Magyar Posta Assistant CEO László Szivi said that offices will also be closed where the volume of traffic does not justify their existence.
With the retreat of the company, a full liberalization of postal services can be expected by 2009. There are nearly 100 companies in Hungary registered to perform postal services, including several global firms, many of which are believed to be planning a further expansion of their operations once liberalization occurs.