Within three years, the branch network should be separated from the Czech Post into a new state-owned enterprise. The post office should continue to offer mainly commercial services. This was stated by the Minister of the Interior Jan Hamáček (CSSD) at a press conference.
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The division into a branch part providing the so-called universal service ordered by the state and a commercial part operating in a market environment is intended to ensure the company’s competitiveness in the coming years.
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“Two state-owned companies will emerge from the current one company of the Czech Post. The first company will focus on the services ordered by the state. Both employees and real estate – branches – will go there. The aim is to transparently quantify how much this universal service of the state actually costs, “explained Matyáš Vitík, a spokesman for the Czech Post, for SZ Byznys.
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The second part, the so-called commercial part, according to him, will not have to pay from its profits the loss-making services that the post office provides for the state.
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“The main difference is that after the division, it will be clear how much the state should pay for the services it orders from the Czech Post,” commented a Czech Post spokesman.
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According to Hamáček, the division will not mean the closure of branches, the dismissal of employees or the privatization of part of the company.
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According to CEO Roman Knap, the Post Office is currently to operate a network of at least 3,200 branches or ensure the delivery of letter items and some parcels throughout the Czech Republic on the basis of a license from the state. For this, it can demand the state to pay costs of up to 1.5 billion crowns. He last received this payment in 2017.
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This year, the post office should create a division strategy with the Ministry of the Interior, including the division of assets, and changes in legislation are to follow next year. The physical division is to take place in 2023 with a new postal license.
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According to Knap, the division of mail into a delivery part and a branch network has been planned for a long time. “It was preceded by a reconfiguration of the branch network and a change in the delivery system. This was also related to the elimination of almost 3,000 partially vacant jobs last year. “No redundancies are planned at this time,” Knap added. The post office employs around 27,000 people.
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Last year, the Czech Post increased its loss by one billion to CZK 1.382 billion due to coronavirus. At the same time, she planned that the decline would be even 400 million crowns higher. The negative impact of the pandemic represents more than half of last year’s loss. So far this year, the company has an operating profit of CZK 25 million.
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