PostNord, the Danish national postal service, plans to stop delivering all letters by the end of 2025, saying that letter volumes have fallen by 90% since the beginning of the century. The decision will end 400 years of letter delivery services in the country, on Thursday, the 6th pf March, reports the British broadcaster BBC.
In Denmark, 1 500 letter boxes will start disappearing from the beginning of June.
Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen tried to calm Danes, saying letters would still be sent and received because “there is a free market for both letters and parcels”.
PostNord announced that around 1 500 of its 4 600 employees would lose their jobs.
The company’s CEO, Kim Pedersen, said that Danes are becoming increasingly digital and the decline in letter volumes has become so significant that last year alone they fell by 30%.
Denmark is one of the world’s most digitised countries. Almost everything has an app: few people use cash, and Danes even carry their driving licences and health cards on their smartphones.
BANK STATEMENTS, BILLS AND NOTIFICATIONS FROM LOCAL AUTHORITIES ARE SENT ELECTRONICALLY.
Public services send notifications via a digital mail app or other platforms, and PostNord Denmark argues that the letter market is no longer profitable.
This decision will have the greatest impact on the elderly. While 95% of Danes use digital mail services, 271 000 people still rely on physical mail.
Pelle Dragsted, a Danish Member of Parliament, blamed privatisation for this decision and complained that the move would disadvantage people in remote areas.
The introduction of the new postal law in 2024 opened the letter market to private companies and mail is no longer exempt from VAT, leading to higher postal costs.
“When a letter costs 29 Danish kroner (3.89 euro), there will be fewer letters,” the CEO of PostNord Denmark told local media.
The company said it would focus on parcel deliveries now.
Letter volumes are falling across Europe. Germany’s Deutsche Post said on Thursday it was cutting 8 000 jobs in a “socially responsible way”. The company has 187 000 employees and employee representatives expressed fears that more job cuts are on the way.
PostNord also operates in Sweden. Denmark owns 40% and Sweden 60%.