The Post Office will reportedly close 115 of its branches after they made losses – leaving hundreds of Brits without jobs.
Talks of the closures come ahead of an upcoming meeting scheduled by Post Office chairman, Nigel Railton, with both postmasters and Post Office staff invited to hear of the plans. The move would be a major hit to the 3,000 staff in the company's head office, as well as those in 115 city centre Crown Post Offices.
The company is believed to be switching to a franchise model, whilst keeping the number of postmasters the same. It is not yet known which branches will be affected. The Post Office earlier said it had no plans to cut down on its approximately 8,500 branches, which are managed by independent postmasters and local businesses.
There are also around 2,000 Post Offices operated by retailers such as WHSmith and the Co-op, and not by Post Office staff. The company dismissed earlier reports suggesting two-thirds of postmasters could lose their jobs. The company said that cost savings would be redirected towards increasing postmasters' pay and investing in automation, including note counting machines and self-scanning tills, reports The Sun.
A spokesperson said: "We will set out a 'New Deal' for postmasters and the future of the Post Office as an organisation. It 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."
Martin Quinn from Campaign for Cash said: "This is another nail in the coffin for communities who rely on the Post Office network for access to cash services. The Government must immediately demand that this closure programme be stopped, and treat the Post Office network as national infrastructure."
Despite the challenges faced, the 364-year-old establishment, which has been at the heart of UK communities, continues to operate about 11,500 branches, maintaining its status as the nation's largest retail network, and remains fully under state ownership. Whitehall sources have also acknowledged the Post Office's financial strain, saying that without the annual government subsidy it receives, the institution would struggle to stay afloat.