News

Swiss Post has merged its import and export parcel operations following the decision by Deutsche Post to switch the delivery of German parcels in Switzerland to DHL – a move that will cost the Swiss postal operator 60-70 jobs.

Deutsche Post has decided that the customs clearance and delivery of its parcels from Germany to Switzerland should be handled by its own DHL business, resulting in Swiss Post losing almost three-quarters of its parcel business.

This affects 4,600 of the 6,300 import parcels handled daily at the Exchange Office Basel, leaving only 1,700 parcels for delivery by Swiss Post staff on a daily basis.

Due to the falling shipment volumes, Swiss Post has been forced to cut between 60 and 70 jobs at the exchange offices in Basel and Zurich.

As part of its restructuring measures, Swiss Post is relocating jobs in Zurich and Basel to Urdorf, a municipality in the canton of Zurich, with about 22 staff managing the company’s import and export parcel operations in future.

Until now, Swiss Post has cleared all parcels mailed to Switzerland from Germany through customs at the Exchange Office Basel - located in the Swiss Post building - and channelled them into its parcel delivery network.

The major part of the revenues at the office was generated from these import parcels, handled by about 90 employees.