Swiss Post buys direct advertising company Distriba and reorganizes delivery
Swiss Post is acquiring the Basel-based company Distriba. Changes to delivery operations at Swiss Post subsidiary Direct Mail Company (DMC) could result in about 25 employees losing their jobs, while more than 3,000 employees face reduced working hours.
The nationwide delivery of unaddressed advertising mail is part of DMC's core business, Swiss Post announced on Monday. In order to better position itself in the advertising market, which has been in decline for years, and to exploit synergies, Swiss Post acquired the Basel-based company Distriba and integrated it into DMC at the end of June.
In a first step, DMC took over the six permanent employees of the former Distriba AG as well as around 150 delivery staff on the same terms of employment as before.
In a second step, the delivery routes are to be adjusted, processes optimized and synergies exploited. As a result of the situation in the traditional advertising market, the demand for a second delivery window per week is decreasing, while cost pressure continues.
DMC has therefore analyzed its delivery processes and intends to adapt them. From the beginning of 2020, deliveries will only be made once a week on two consecutive days. Today, there are two delivery windows for unaddressed direct mail items: Monday/Tuesday and Wednesday/Thursday.
DMC employs around 4,500 people throughout Switzerland, of which around 4,430 work part-time in delivery. If the current two delivery windows were reduced to one per week, this would affect around 3370 employees, Swiss Post writes. This would result in adjustments to the employment contracts.
According to Swiss Post, the reduction to one delivery window per week would have an impact on DMC employees at the Niederbipp BE site, where the consignments are processed. Production there would have to be switched to single-shift operation and around 25 employees in production and administration would lose their jobs.
A social plan should help to cushion the effects of the planned changes. DMC will also begin talks this year with the Syndicom trade union and the Transfair staff association on a collective employment agreement for printed matter.
The Syndicom trade union is calling for a generous social plan for the delivery staff affected. The reduction in delivery days from 2020 will lead to a reduction in working hours and therefore also to a pay cut.
The declining demand in the traditional advertising market is not a new development and is expected to continue. Syndicom is therefore calling for a collective labor agreement for the entire industry that includes cushioning measures in the event of restructuring and offers employees in the industry security. (SDA)
