More than 200 An Post staff are to lose their jobs as the postal service announced the phased closure of a letter sorting centre.
It was announced late on Wednesday night that 216 staff will be laid off with the closure of the Cork Mail Centre in Little Island, Co Cork.
A total of 240 staff will be offered redundancy packages or redeployment.
An Post says that the job losses come as the company looks to reduce its letter processing capacity in line with "global industry trends".
The closure will be phased between September 2019 and March 2020.
Staff will be offered:
- Exit packages of 6 weeks per year of service up a maximum of 2 years’ pay;
- Redeployment opportunities within An Post’s networks in the Cork area (currently employing nearly 1000 people)
- Further education / re-skilling grants up to €3,000 per person
- Help to secure jobs with new employers; a Jobs Fair and outplacement support.
David McRedmond, CEO OF An Post said: Closing the Cork letters’ facility is a tough but necessary step as we invest in the new world of parcels for our customers.
"I want to be sure of two things: first, sustainability is about decent work and we will look after our employees as well as possible; and second, I want Cork to be the first city in Ireland to benefit fully from the new parcels infrastructure for customers.”
Garrett Bridgeman Managing Director of An Post Mails & Parcels said: "The closure is simply due to the global trend of mail volume decline which has led to significant over-capacity in the mails system.
"Our priority is to look after our employees who have given great service to An Post by providing alternative employment options, good redundancy terms, further education grants and active access to other employers."
