Future of Hungarian post offices uncertain, many may close down

From 1 May 2023, several post offices located across Hungary might have to shut their doors. Those that are located in villages and communities with a population of under 1,500 are most at risk.

Unless the local municipal governments are able to take over the operation of these facilities, there is a fear that permanent closure may be on the cards, reports 24.hu.

Alternative solutions

The aforementioned offices belong to Magyar Posta (Hungarian Post), the main postal service provider entity of the country. They have recently asked the municipal governments of the affected communities for cooperation to sustain their local services. If they are unable or unwilling to help, the postal office in their area may have to close down permanently.

Should this happen, Hungarian Post might resort to the use of so-called “mobile post (mobilposta)”. This means that instead of operating a permanent post office in the village, they will systematically send out postal vans. These can go from settlement to settlement, providing the required service to the locals.

24.hu has reached out to József Tóth, the mayor Nagylók. which is a small community with a population of around 1,000. According to Tóth, the regional director of Hungarian Post has sent a letter to the municipal government, as well as to other local businesses. In it, they informed them about the ways of cooperating with the local post office, to help maintain its services. They did not mention the possible closure of the office in the letter. However, postal employees have previously brought this up as a probability.

“Such an outcome would severely disadvantage the local population, if these services will not be replaced by other means”

– said the mayor

• Read also: Dozens of post offices to close in Budapest!

Hardships at Hungarian Post

Back in October of 2022, 366 postal offices closed down temporarily. This was the result of the drastic rise in energy prices, which forced the company to curb its operations. Most of them remained closed to this day. In such cases, Hungarian Post was unable to come to an agreement with the local municipal governments about the further financing of the affected offices.

Until the second half of January, we know about only 45 instances, where a deal was struck and the postal service resumed. On 28 February, Hungarian Post announced, that they would let 1,200 of their employees go. They claimed this drastic move served the purpose of maintaining the stability of their operations, with the promise that this would not affect the quality of their services. Furthermore, they are committed to keeping the redundant workers employed through different means.

The representatives of Hungarian Post have been contacted in regard to the issue, but no reply was received until the publication of the article.

Read also:

• Post offices to reopen in Hungary in January
• Hungary’s postal workers have had enough

Source: 24.hu