New Zealand Post slows snail mail to three days a week
NZ Post follows other national mail operators in cutting schedule of deliveries
New Zealand Post said on Thursday that it will deliver letters only three days a week amid a decline in “snail mail” volumes blamed on alternatives such as emails and texts.
NZ Post chairman Michael Cullen said the state-owned body had to act to remain viable, conceding the plan was likely to involve “significant” job losses.
“Unfortunately the rate of decline has been accelerating, we’re now seeing letters go down by over eight per cent per annum and the underlying trend is clear,” he told Radio New Zealand.
NZ Post, which was formed in the 1850s, currently delivers mail six days a week, with Sunday the only rest day.
But it has received permission from the government to cut back to three days in mid-2015 in a bid to contain costs.
“[It] reflects the need to balance the immediate interests of postal users with the longer term need for greater flexibility for New Zealand Post, given the dramatic reduction in the volume of postal items over the past 11 years,” Communications Minister Amy Adams said.
Cullen said it was too early to predict how many jobs would be lost but unions said about 1,000 positions were at risk.
