NZ Post has announced its plans to cut at least 750 staff in the next five years.
The state-owned enterprise responsible for providing the nation’s postal services currently employs 4500 staff across New Zealand, with 39 in Wairarapa, comprised of four leadership and support roles, 10 contractors, 12 processing staff, and 13 “delivery agents” [posties].
Public airing of the plan follows the company announcing its decision earlier this month to significantly increase postal prices, something that has alarmed a number of groups – including rural organisations – that rely on physical mail.
Chief executive David Walsh said the prospect of jobs cuts is due to New Zealanders having drastically changed the way they choose to communicate.
“Our business is evolving as New Zealanders are increasingly communicating online, and NZ Post has responded to this by making a number of changes over the past decade. We are working to find the most efficient and cost effective way to deliver the lower volume of mail for our customers,” Walsh said.
According to the NZ Post, whereas Kiwis sent over one billion mail items a year two decades ago, last year only 220 million items were mailed.
“We will soon begin consultation with a view to reducing the number of roles involved in mail as a response to continuing mail decline,” Walsh told the Times-Age.
“We don’t know exactly when the roles in different locations will be impacted, as mail volume decline varies from region to region.”
A NZ Post spokesperson said the organisation was unable to comment on how many Wairarapa staff may be impacted by the job cuts.
