More than 100 Post Office branches could close under a major overhaul
More than 100 Post Office branches and some 1,000 jobs are at risk under a sweeping overhaul as the group looks to boost postmaster pay by £250 million over five years.
The Post Office revealed it is looking to offload 115 directly-owned branches within its 11,500 network, which could see them transferred to retail partners or postmasters, or potentially closed.
Around 1,000 workers are employed across the branches, while the Post Office also confirmed that hundreds of further roles are under threat at its headquarters as it looks to streamline back office operations.
A Post Office spokesman said: “We are considering a range of options to reduce our central costs.
“This includes considering the future of our remaining directly managed branches (DMBs), which are loss-making.
“We have had long held a publicly-stated ambition to move to a fully franchised network and we are in dialogue with the unions about future options for the DMBs.”
Post Office chairman Nigel Railton 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 as it looks to move on from the Horizon IT scandal that saw hundreds of subpostmasters wrongfully convicted.
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.
Mr Railton made the announcement at the company’s headquarters in London on Wednesday in a speech to postmasters across the country, as well as retail partners and Post Office staff.
He 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.
“We can, and will, restore pride in working for a business with a legacy of service, rather than one of scandal.”
He added the overhaul also “begins a new phase of partnership during which we will strengthen the postmaster voice in the day-to-day running and operations of the business, so they are represented from the frontline to the boardroom”.
It follows a strategic review launched by Mr Railton in May, but is reliant on funding talks with government, which the Post Office said were “positive and ongoing”.
The Government is also said to have been consulted on the possibility of handing ownership of the network to thousands of subpostmasters across the country.
The 115 branches put at risk are are Crown Post Offices located in city centres and staffed by Post Office employees.