The future of the Czech Post is under intense scrutiny as disputes escalate. The YES movement has accused the state enterprise’s leadership of manipulating accounting practices. Together,the postal service faces increasing competition,and management has issued warnings about its unsustainable economic situation.

With losses exceeding one billion crowns last year and significant loan debts, the Czech Post’s financial health is precarious. Despite narrowly avoiding collapse in 2023 through a government rescue plan that included asset sales, branch closures, layoffs, and the spin-off of its commercial parcel and logistics services into a separate entity under the Balíkovna brand, challenges persist.

Since April, the parcel division has been operating independently. The government is considering various options, including a full or partial sale, or a strategic partnership.The Czech Post would then focus on its branch network and state-mandated services.

Miroslav Štěpán, head of Czech post, emphasizes the gravity of the situation, despite averting immediate disaster. “We can say with all honesty that the parcel services are loss -making. And someone has to finance the loss. Parcel services are services that are not defined by legislation. And they are really commercial. This means that they are provided on market mechanisms.”

Labor Costs a Key Issue

during a Senate address, Miroslav Štěpán illustrated the competitive pressures faced by the Czech Post. “75 percent of the processes in the Czech Post parcel services are solved by human strength. It is terribly expensive. Our competitors have processes built in such a way that human work is 20 percent,” says Miroslav Štěpán, adding: The investment should finance private capital, not a taxpayer.”

The fate of Czech Post remains uncertain. Interior Minister Vít Rakušan acknowledges the necessity of financial support for the parcel division. “For its further functioning, the package necessarily needs a strategic partner to invest in it,” says Austrian. Though, he concedes that a sale is unlikely under the current government.”Czech Post has a consulting company for the next procedure on the parcel that evaluates the market situation and will recommend the most suitable procedure that the government will decide.”

Previously, the head of the czech Post estimated that an investment of two to three billion crowns would be necessary for the parcel division to remain competitive.

The YES movement, a leading opposition party, aims to prevent the parcel division’s sale. A recent attempt to compel the government to halt property transfers related to the parcel division within the Czech Post was unsuccessful.

“First of all, we will stop the parcel. It is necessary to do an in -depth audit immediately because we have verified data that in -house accounting is optimized to bring out the package and subsequent sale,” said Karel Havlíček, Vice -Chairman of the YES movement.

The Ministry of the Interior refutes any claims of distorted accounting practices within the subsidiary, as suggested by Karel Havlíček. Minister Austrian stated that the government inherited the Czech Post in a precarious state, with the primary objective being to prevent its collapse and stabilize the company.He affirmed that the post office would continue to serve as a crucial component of the state’s infrastructure.

借鉴波兰模式

Advisors on the potential sale of the parcel division point to examples such as Austrian Post, where private capital accounts for 47 percent of ownership. These private funds were instrumental in restructuring Austria’s parcel services.

“75 percent of the processes in the Czech Post parcel services are solved by human strength. It is indeed terribly expensive.”

The Polish Post faced similar challenges. Last year, the country’s second-largest employer unveiled a extensive change plan centered on digitization, branch revitalization, and workforce reduction through severance packages.

As demand for Polish Post services declined, the state-owned entity struggled to compete with more agile and modern competitors. “We have to start acting as a player on the market that is fighting for the customer and offering our services in a much more professional way,” said Sebastian, head of Poszta, regarding the revolutionary transformation a year ago.

some observers believe that Czech Post will always be at a disadvantage compared to its competitors. “The post office is still here for a group of people who do not want to enter the digital world and the issue of the classic material service in the competition of digital instruments is very difficult. And this debate is not only Czech, but all European postal administrations.”

If the parcel division is sold,Czechs would no longer use Czech Post for package delivery. Instead, the post office would lease its branches to competing carriers, allowing customers to drop off packages at post office locations.

Currently, the parcel division charges 85 crowns for delivery to its parcel lockers. A competing service charges 89 crowns for similar-sized packages (up to 5 kg) delivered to post offices or lockers,while the parcel division handles packages up to 15 kilograms.Last year, the competing service transported 130 million shipments, compared to Czech post’s 158 million, including 52 million packages.

The price of a shipment delivered through Alza’s lockers is 69 crowns. Representatives of the e-shop state that their focus is on increasing efficiency and capacity of existing lockers rather than directly competing in the broader market.

Czech Post currently employs approximately twenty thousand people and operates 2900 branches, a reduction of three hundred since 2023 as part of the company’s cost-saving measures.