Public react after Post Office could be set to close 115 branches

The Post Office could be set to close 115 “loss-making” branches across the UK putting more than 1000 jobs at risk.

Post Office chairman Nigel Railton is expected to set out a “transformation plan” on Wednesday (November 13) to postmasters, retail partners and staff.

This new plan will aim to fix the company’s finances.

On a callout to social media, many expressed their views on how they would deal with their local branch closing. 

Some Facebook users welcomed the idea, exclaiming that their Post Office does not run efficiently. 

One person said “Due to the random times the post office counter is open in my local shop it would probably be an improvement. At least we’d know when it’s shut.

Another person wrote “I would be delighted, because they are a bunch of idiots who totally lack customer service. In fact, I would be delighted if the whole store closed.”

A further person wrote “They will make matters worse across the country, the fact that the post offices we have now are inadequate for the people’s needs in the areas.

“Some don’t cover all aspects and send you to another post office to deal with said issues, what better solution is Royal Mail going to put in place to improve the service to cope with day-to-day needs, sadly reducing just isn’t the answer.”

Others also came forward to say that they actually do not use the service too often, so would not notice its departure. 

One said “There’s always the Co-op and Evri” with another person responding to the previous comment with “Never use the post office in 30 years.”

A further person said, “Won’t bother me I can buy stamps on Amazon and I post my parcels in the parcel boxes in town.”

The new transformation plan is set to include details on the closure of 115 “loss-making” branches across the UK, Sky News reported, which would result in the loss of more than 1000 jobs.

The Post Office network includes 11,500 branches across the UK, 115 of which are Crown Post Offices located in city centres and staffed by Post Office employees.

It will seek to close those branches or seek alternative franchising arrangements in a bid to cut financial losses in the long-term, according to Sky News.

A Post Office spokesperson said the new plan, which follows a strategic review earlier this year, will “dramatically increase postmasters’ share of revenues, strengthen our branch network and make it work better for local communities, independent postmasters and our partners who own and operate branches”.