Latvijas Pasts national postal company has decided to suspend its extensive post office closure plan, which envisaged the closure of 105 out of 176 post offices this year, representatives of the company informed LETA.
The company also informed that it will continue to work on its strategy to meet the needs of the population and will also work on an evaluation process to agree on the most optimal solution – to keep all post offices open, to keep offices only in city centers, or choose other options.
At the same time, Latvijas Pasts representatives stressed that the suspension of the closures would require additional funding of around EUR 2.1 million this year.
However, no decision has been taken yet on which post offices will be preserved and in what quantity, as Latvijas Pasts will also have to negotiate with local governments, the company said.
At the same time, Transport Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Girts Dubkevics tweeted that the hasty closure of post offices has been halted. “Latvijas Pasts needs to modernize, but it must not be driven only by profit and remain without a clear strategy on alternatives,” the ministry’s representative said.
As reported, Latvijas Pasts planned to close 105 of its 175 post offices this year, citing decreasing demand for postal services. The company said it was not financially feasible to maintain so many post offices.
The company also said that to keep all the post offices open in 2024, Latvijas Pasts would needed around EUR 2.1 million in additional funding.
In the meantime, Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments and Transport Minister Kaspars Briskens (Progressives) have agreed to review the plan for reorganization of Latvijas Pasts network of post offices in line with the needs of residents in the regions.
The Ministry of Transport has also instructed Latvijas Pasts supervisory board to present to the ministry justification for closing each individual post office and an analysis of opinions of residents and institutions about the proposed reform.
Latvijas Pasts’ turnover in 2022 amounted to EUR 100.009 million, down 5.1 percent on 2021, while the company’s profit stood at EUR 2.21 million, compared to a loss in 2021.
Source: BNS
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