Up to 2,000 NZ Post jobs to go in three year shake-up

Friday 1st November 2013

Between 1,500 and 2,000 New Zealand Post staff will lose their jobs over the next three years as the state-owned postal operator and owner of KiwiBank cuts swathes off its costs by reducing mail deliveries, closing Post Shops, and continuing to make postal delivery more efficient.

NZ Post chairman and former Finance and Social Welfare Minister in Labour-led governments, Sir Michael Cullen, fronted the announcements in Wellington today.

"These initiatives will have a significant impact on the number of people working in New Zealand Post across processing, delivery, retail and corporate support roles," he said in a statement.

"While we will remain one of the biggest employers in the country we are also signalling that we expect to need to reduce our workforce by around 1,500 to 2,000.

"While significant, it is important to recognise that the reduction will be phased and will occur over the next three years," said Cullen. ''That impact on people is very regrettable but it's something we can't avoid given the changes to how customers and the broader community are using our services.

"The traditional letter mail business is in irreversible decline," he said, with letter volumes falling 30 percent since 2006 and facing further decline within the next five years.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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