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Nearly 80 pct of Finland's post offices to be closed

Xinhua, June 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Finnish postal and logistic service provider Posti Group announced on Tuesday that nearly eighty percent of post offices in Finland would be shut down and more than 300 employees laid off.

As a result of the cooperation negotiations between Posti and PAU, the Finnish Postal and Logistics Union, 77 of Posti's 98 post offices are expected to close, causing 319 postal workers to lose their jobs, between 2015 and 2018.

About two weeks ago, all 98 post offices in Finland temporarily closed, due to a strike staged by post workers. The strike was called by the labor union, as it was discontented with the progress of talks held with Posti Group.

According to the newly announced plan, the services provided by the post offices to be shut down will be outsourced to Posti's partner shops.

Currently, there are some 1,400 Posti service points across Finland, including nearly 800 which cooperate with its partners in shops.

The company said it planned to open one hundred new service points, increasing the number of its service points to 1,500 in the next few years.

Posti said the decision aims to renew and improve accessibility of its services.

Founded in 1638, Posti Group is a state-owned company which operates in more than 11 countries around Europe. The group slashed about 1,100 jobs last year. Currently, it employs about 23,000 postal workers. Endit