AUSTRALIA Post will chop 900 jobs, or 23 per cent of head office staff, as part of a dramatic restructuring and cost cutting program which will separate the parcels and logistics business from the traditional letter and retail operations.
Australia Post chief executive Ahmed Fahour announced the split of Australian post into two divisions: Blue Post, which is the Star Track parcels business, and Red Post, which is the traditional letter and retail business.
Mr Fahour is yet to name the heads of the new divisions, after the recent departures of senior executives Tracey Fellows, to run online real estate business REA Group, and Stephen Cleary to run the Port of Botany in Sydney.
The job cuts will result in a charge of around $85 million this year.
Australia Post employs around 4000 people in its Melbourne head office and 32,000 overall.
This is down about 3000 since Mr Fahour took over the business in 2010.
Mr Fahour is now forecasting a loss from the regulated letter business of $350 million this year, which compares with last year’s $218 million loss and also includes the boost provided by a 10 cent increase in stamp prices which Mr Fahour said would lift earnings by $100 million.
Australia Post reported a profit last year of $312 million and Mr Fahour earned $4.8m, which included back pay from past superannuation entitlements.