What Swiss Post Office closures mean for residents around Switzerland
Switzerland’s postal service is reputed for being reliable and efficient. But could imminent closures of many of its branches cut services that customers depend on?
At the end of May, Swiss Post announced that by 2028, it would be closing 150 branches throughout Switzerland, out of the total of about 750.
It has not specified the location of the offices to be shut down.
On the positive side, however, no personnel will be affected by branch closures.
There will be no layoffs, as a number of employees will retire of leave or their own volition.
Why is the Post Office closing so many branches?
In a way, consumers themselves are to ‘blame’ for this development.
The customers’ habits have changed over the years: the purchase of stamps and payments of bills, for instance — two of the basic services the Post has been offering — can now be done online, which means no physical visit to a postal counter is needed.
Consequently, attendance at various branches fell by 35 percent in the past several years.
“We recognise that over the last four years, customer behaviour has changed,” the Post’s CEO Roberto Cirillo said. “For instance, counter services are less in demand. This is why we must adapt our network.”
Will postal services be impacted by the closures?
In Switzerland, the Post Office is multi-functional; that is, it performs many services that are not related strictly to the mail.
For instance, it provides financial and administrative services, and operates a public transport company, among many others.
READ ALSO: 11 things you can do at a Swiss post office other than buy stamps
However, the Post Office said that impending branch closures will not affect these services, or its primary mission— the delivery of letters.
In fact, even though some branch offices will be closed, they will not disappear altogether but transferred to ‘partner structures’ instead.
What does this mean?
Postal counters will be increasingly replaced by ‘customer points’ integrated into small businesses, from where you will be able to send your letters and packages, and receive your registered mail as well.
They will include shops, pharmacies, and other public venues that will provide limited, but essential, postal services.
In total, consumers will be able to conduct ‘postal businesses’ not just at the remaining 600 branches, but also at 1,400 additional ‘customer points.’
The ‘social’ factor
While this has not been the Post’s original mission, its branches, especially in small towns and rural areas, “have become meeting places,” urbanist Thierry Chanard said in an interview with RTS public broadcaster.
Therefore, “losing post offices also means losing a little bit of community social life.”
He stressed the importance “of guaranteeing societal exchange, despite the disappearance of certain meeting places,” like the post office.
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At the end of May, Swiss Post announced that by 2028, it would be closing 150 branches throughout Switzerland, out of the total of about 750.
It has not specified the location of the offices to be shut down.
On the positive side, however, no personnel will be affected by branch closures.
There will be no layoffs, as a number of employees will retire of leave or their own volition.
Why is the Post Office closing so many branches?
In a way, consumers themselves are to ‘blame’ for this development.
The customers’ habits have changed over the years: the purchase of stamps and payments of bills, for instance — two of the basic services the Post has been offering — can now be done online, which means no physical visit to a postal counter is needed.
Consequently, attendance at various branches fell by 35 percent in the past several years.
“We recognise that over the last four years, customer behaviour has changed,” the Post’s CEO Roberto Cirillo said. “For instance, counter services are less in demand. This is why we must adapt our network.”
Will postal services be impacted by the closures?
In Switzerland, the Post Office is multi-functional; that is, it performs many services that are not related strictly to the mail.
For instance, it provides financial and administrative services, and operates a public transport company, among many others.
READ ALSO: 11 things you can do at a Swiss post office other than buy stamps
However, the Post Office said that impending branch closures will not affect these services, or its primary mission— the delivery of letters.
In fact, even though some branch offices will be closed, they will not disappear altogether but transferred to ‘partner structures’ instead.
What does this mean?
Postal counters will be increasingly replaced by ‘customer points’ integrated into small businesses, from where you will be able to send your letters and packages, and receive your registered mail as well.
They will include shops, pharmacies, and other public venues that will provide limited, but essential, postal services.
In total, consumers will be able to conduct ‘postal businesses’ not just at the remaining 600 branches, but also at 1,400 additional ‘customer points.’
The ‘social’ factor
While this has not been the Post’s original mission, its branches, especially in small towns and rural areas, “have become meeting places,” urbanist Thierry Chanard said in an interview with RTS public broadcaster.
Therefore, “losing post offices also means losing a little bit of community social life.”
He stressed the importance “of guaranteeing societal exchange, despite the disappearance of certain meeting places,” like the post office.
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