Post Office confirms 115 branches to close, with 1,000 workers at risk

The Post Office has published a full list of branches which are set to close across the UK, as ITV News Business and Economics Editor Joel Hills reports

The Post Office has announced that more than 100 of its branches are closing as part of a "transformational" plan to fix its finances.

The group said it plans to offload 115 directly owned branches within its 11,500 network, which could see them transferred to retail partners or postmasters, or potentially closed. They are the only remaining branches directly owned by the Post Office, down from close to 400 in 2010.

The branches employ around 1,000 workers whose jobs could now be at risk. Hundreds of jobs are also under threat at the Post Office's headquarters.

The changes, which aim to boost postmaster pay by £250 million over five years, were confirmed by the group's chairman Nigel Railton on Wednesday morning.

He said the shake-up will also offer a “new deal for postmasters” by increasing their share of revenue and giving them a greater say in the running of the business.

The Post Office has 11,500 branches across the UK, including 115 Crown Post Offices found in city centres, which are staffed by Post Office employees.

Some 2,000 are operated by the organisation's partners, such as Tesco and WHSmith. Independent postmasters operate the remaining 9,000 as franchises.

The plans, which are subject to government funding, would see average branch pay doubled by 2030, with £120 million in additional pay by the end of the first year.

The announcement follows a turbulent year for the Post Office. The business and its former management have been subject to an inquiry about how faulty accounting software led to hundreds of subpostmasters being wrongfully convicted.

The scandal saw the defective Horizon system give the impression money was missing from their branches, leading to some being sent to prison.

Mr Railton said: “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.

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“We can, and will, restore pride in working for a business with a legacy of service, rather than one of scandal.”

But the Communication Workers Union (CWU) union called on the Post Office to halt the plans and for the government to intervene.

CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “For the company to announce the closure of hundreds of Post Offices hot on the heels of the Horizon scandal is as tone deaf as it is immoral.

“CWU members are victims of the Horizon scandal – and for them to now fear for their jobs ahead of Christmas is yet another cruel attack.”

The Post Office has insisted that aims are to franchise the branches or transfer ownership to other parties, such as its network of retail partners.

Branches at risk of closure:

  • Aldwych

  • Antrim

  • Baker Street

  • Bangor

  • Barnes Green

  • Barnet

  • Belfast City

  • Bexhill-on-Sea

  • Bideford

  • Birmingham

  • Bransholme

  • Breck Road

  • Bridlington

  • Brixton

  • Broadway

  • Caernarfon

  • Cambridge City

  • Canning Town

  • Chester-le-Street

  • City of London

  • Clapham Common

  • Cosham

  • Cricklewood

  • Crossgates

  • Croydon High Street

  • Dereham

  • Didsbury Village

  • Dunraven Place

  • East Dulwich

  • Eccles

  • Eccleston Street

  • Edinburgh City

  • Furness House

  • Glasgow

  • Gloucester

  • Golders Green

  • Great Portland Street

  • Grimsby

  • Haddington

  • Hampstead

  • Harlesden

  • Harold Hill

  • High Holborn

  • Houndsditch

  • Hyde

  • Inverness

  • Islington

  • Kendal

  • Kennington Park

  • Kensington

  • Kettering

  • Kilburn

  • Kingsbury

  • Kingsland High Street

  • Kirkwall

  • Knightsbridge

  • Leigh

  • Leighton Buzzard

  • Liskeard

  • London Bridge

  • Derry

  • Lower Edmonton

  • Lupus Street

  • Manchester

  • Matlock

  • Melville Road

  • Merthyr Tydfil

  • Milton Keynes

  • Morecambe

  • Morley

  • Mount Pleasant

  • Mutley

  • Nailsea

  • Newquay

  • Newtownards

  • Northolt

  • Old Swan

  • Oswestry

  • Oxford

  • Paddington Quay

  • Paignton

  • Port Talbot

  • Portsmouth

  • Poulton-le-Fylde

  • Prestwich

  • Raynes Park

  • Redditch

  • Roman Road

  • Romsey

  • Rotherham

  • Salford City

  • Saltcoats

  • Sheffield City

  • South Ockendon

  • South Shields

  • Southall

  • Springburn Way

  • St Johns

  • St Peters Street

  • Stamford

  • Stamford Hill

  • Stockport

  • Stornoway

  • Stroud

  • Sunderland City

  • Teignmouth

  • The Markets

  • Vauxhall Bridge road

  • Wealdstone

  • Westbourne

  • Wester Hailes

  • Windsor

  • Worlds End

  • Yate Sodbury

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