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The Post Office has confirmed plans to shut down 115 branches, a move that could potentially lead to the loss of 1,000 jobs. The branches under threat may be transferred to retail partners or postmasters, or they could face closure.
Have your say! How will the planned Post Office closures affect you? Comment below and join in the conversation.
The locations at risk are the 115 Crown Post Offices branches, which are located in city centres and are the only remaining branches directly owned by the Post Office. Furthermore, the Post Office confirmed that several roles at its head office are also at risk.
Nigel Railton, chair of the Post Office, stated that the restructuring, dependent on Government funding, would increase postmasters’ pay by £250million over five years. The announcement was made today as part of a significant transformation programme for the struggling state-owned mail and financial services firm.
The Post Office operates 11,500 branches across the UK. Sky News, which initially reported the closures this week, said the Government had been consulted on the plans.
Mr Railton stated: “The Post Office has a 360-year history of public service and today we want to secure that service for the future by learning from past mistakes and moving forward for the benefit of all postmasters. We can, and will, restore pride in working for a business with a legacy of service, rather than one of scandal.
“The value postmasters deliver in their communities must be reflected in their pockets, and this Transformation Plan provides a route to adding more than £250million annually to total postmaster remuneration by 2030, subject to government funding.”
A spokesperson from the Post Office further detailed the initiative, explaining: “The plan intends to create a new operating model for the business that means ensuring the Post Office has the right organisational design.”
These comments emerge amid a period of intense examination for the Post Office amidst the ongoing public inquiry into the Horizon IT debacle this week. The scandal infamously led to several sub-postmasters being unjustly convicted of theft due to errors with the defective Horizon computer system.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds, who testified during the inquiry, insisted on “very significant changes” to how the Post Office operates. He argued: “I think, despite the scale of this scandal, the Post Office is still an incredibly important institution in national life. I look at the business model of the Post Office, and I think even accounting for the changes in the core services that are provided, there’s still a whole range of services that are really important. But I don’t think postmasters make sufficient remuneration from what the public want from the Post Office.”
Have your say! How will the planned Post Office closures affect you? Comment below and join in the conversation.
