37 Crown Post Offices set to be closed and franchised

More closures for the postal service…

The Post Office is planning to close and franchise 37 Crown offices, this will bring huge job cuts with the loss of 300 positions and 127 specialist roles, the union says.

The Post Office has said these cuts will keep branches in the places where customers want and need them to be.

However, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said the move was “evidence that the Post Office is in crisis”.

The Union compiled the amount of job losses the Post Office has seen since last year; the total number came to 2,000.

Crown post offices are the larger branches usually found on the High Streets.

In a statement, the Post Office said: “With consumer habits changing, and the high cost of maintaining premises in prime high street locations, franchising helps us to keep services where our customers want and need them.”

The Post Office network has a seen 50 per cent reduction over the last 30 years.

CWU general secretary, Dave Ward, said: “The latest round of closures is further evidence that the Post Office is in crisis and that the board of the company, backed by the government, is simply pursuing a strategy of slash and burn.”

“Today’s announcement comes less than three weeks after the closure of a major government consultation on the future of the Post Office and sticks two fingers up to everyone who took part in this.”