Town centre Post Office among 115 at risk of closure

The Stockport town centre Post Office branch is among 115 locations at risk of closure as part of plans for the organisation to streamline and modernise its operations.

A Transformation Plan set out by the Post Office Chair, Nigel Railton, dubbed a ‘New Deal for Postmasters’, has ambitions to add £250 million annually to total postmaster remuneration by 2030 through strengthening the offer to customers, such as through banking services, as well as investment in automation. The plan also seeks to rebuild trust with customers and postmasters following the Horizon IT scandal, which saw postmasters wrongly accused of theft due to errors in software used by the Post Office.

Also included as part of plans, The Post Office will also look to cut its head office headcount, as well as scale back its wholly-owned branches.

While the vast majority of the UK’s 11,500 Post Office branches are run as franchises, 115 Crown Post Offices are staffed directly by Post Office employees; however, the Post Office’s retail business reported an £81 million pre-tax loss in 2022-23.

Crown Post Offices are largely situated in town and city centres around the country and employ around 1,000 staff nationally whose jobs will be put at risk if the Transformation Plan is approved. Plans could, however, see franchise arrangements established to take over these sites, or see another retailer run the stores as alternatives to a wholesale closure of the branches In Greater Manchester, as well as Stockport, seven other branches are also at risk of closure, including Post Offices in Manchester city centre, Didsbury Village and Hyde.

Speaking on the ‘New Deal for Postmasters’, Chair of the Post Office, Nigel 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. We can, and will, restore pride in working for a business with a legacy of service, rather than one of scandal.

“The value postmasters deliver in their communities must be reflected in their pockets, and this Transformation Plan provides a route to adding more than £250 million annually to total postmaster remuneration by 2030, subject to government funding.

“It 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.”

Elliot Jacobs, serving postmaster and a Non-executive Director on the Post Office Board, added:

“The last few years have been challenging for many retailers and postmasters are no exception. We have faced cost pressures from rising energy prices, increased National Minimum Wage and National Insurance Contributions. It’s vital that the Post Office embarks on this major Transformation Plan so that we have a sustainable financial future, and one that benefits the thousands of postmasters who work tirelessly day-in, day-out to support the local people and businesses who rely on us for essential everyday services.”

The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents Post Office staff and postmasters, has criticised the plans, describing them ‘tone deaf’ in the wake of the Public Enquiry into the Horizon IT scandal.