Tag: Republic of Ireland

Unions and management at An Post have clashed over the number of redundancies likely to result from the closure of the company’s loss-making parcel and courier service SDS.

The company yesterday announced that 270 of the 450 staff at SDS would lose their jobs with the remainder transferring to other positions within An Post.

However, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said it was seeking information on what was going to happen to 400 other staff involved in providing the SDS service, including both the remaining company staff and other An Post staff who work for the parcels company.

Communications Minister Dermot Ahern said yesterday that An Post’s decision to close its SDS parcels division was “a pretty serious situation” for the company and its employees.

He said his department had been in contact with An Post management, which assured them there would be no forced job losses. “We are talking about a total employment of about 500 in SDS and about 180 of those, we hope, will be retained,” he said. A total of 270 jobs are expected to be lost, while the remainder of the jobs are on a contract basis.

There would have to be discussions with staff and unions about how SDS would be reintegrated into An Post, he said.

The potential closure of An Post’s loss-making parcel and courier service SDS is expected to be among a range of issues discussed by the board of the company today.

The closure option is just one of several proposals expected to be considered.

Another option being considered is reintegrating the service into the main An Post group.

Both plans might allow An Post to dispose of the 80,000 sq ft SDS site on the Naas Road, which has been valued at more than E20 million.

The company has been engaged in major property disposals in the last two years as its finances have deteriorated.

An Post has refused to comment on which option has the support of senior management.