Australia Post set to cut jobs
Australia Post may cut around 1,900 jobs in the facing of a continuing decline in mail delivery volumes. The company reportedly aims to reduce the numbers gradually over the next three years through voluntary redundancies and has set aside AU$190m to foot the bill.
Chief executive officer Ahmed Fahour said last week: “We have reached the tipping point that we have been warning about – where, without reform, the business becomes unsustainable.”
As previously reported, Australia Post has seen the amount of letters and other ordinary mail items fall by more than 10% this year – an unprecedented decline.
Fahour warned that Australia Post was poised to report its first full-year loss across the business in more than 30 years. In the letters division, losses will hit almost $500 million for the year to June, taking total losses in that business above $1.5 billion over the past five years.
The CEO added: “We welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to support reform so we can manage the mail service losses, meet the changing needs of our customers and continue to invest in growing parts of our business such as parcels and trusted services.”
Australia Post plans to continue delivering mail five times week (in line with its USO), but it has proposed a two-speed postage service for letters, so it can focus on the more commercially attractive parcel and freight businesses.
The CEPU postal workers’ union issued a response on Friday (26 June), in which the CEPU NSW Secretary Jim Metcher said that the news from the Australia Post “leaves workers anxious and unclear about where, how and when the cuts will be introduced”.
Metcher added: “A round of voluntary redundancies of this magnitude does not just impact on the workers affected, but will have a flow on effect to every Australia Post worker, their families and the wider community.
“Australia Post must be clear with their workforce and the Australian public about how they will continue to maintain a quality mail delivery service with a reduced workforce.”
