120s - 52 minutes laughs about work at the Tavanne post office in the Bernese Jura. Problems of under-scheduling, closure of post office counters. It's exhausting work, but the employees hang in there...

Working conditions for Swiss Post employees in the Jura Arc region

🇨🇭 Post office counter closures in Switzerland: 30-year trend (1995-2025)

📉 1. A massive fall in the number of branches

In 1995, Switzerland had more than 3,600 post offices.
In 2025, there will still be around 800-900, depending on the canton.

➡️ This represents the closure of around 75 % counters in three decades.

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🕰️ 2. Timeline: 30 years of closures

👉 1990s - Start of major closures

• The Internet explodes and e-banking begins.
• Reduction in the volume of letters.
• The Post Office is starting to close the smallest counters.

👉 2000s - Structural reorganisation

• Transformation of La Poste into independent company (1998 → public establishment).
• Objective: efficiency + profitability.
• Passage of classic counters → partnerships in retail outlets (“La Poste in branch”).

👉 2010 - Acceleration

• Massive loss of over-the-counter transactions (payments, consignments, withdrawals).
• Increase in online commerce → more parcels, but less need for counters.
• Dozens of offices closed every year.

👉 2020s - New balance

• La Poste is aiming for a network of around 800-900 points of service.
• Development of:
  • postal agencies in supermarkets
  • MyPost24 vending machines
  • mobile services in villages
• Closures continue, but at a slower pace.

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📦 3. Why so many closures?

1️⃣ Collapse in over-the-counter transactions

• Payments replaced by e-banking (Twint, banking apps).
• Fewer letters sent (emails, digital documents).
• 80 % of over-the-counter transactions between 1990 and 2020.

2️⃣ High costs

• A traditional post office is expensive (staff, rent).
• Some villages had offices with just 10-20 customers a day.

3️⃣ Modernisation strategy

• La Poste has moved services to :
  • business partners
  • 24-hour automatons
  • online services

4️⃣ Political pressure but compromise

• Many cantons require a “universal service”.
• La Poste must maintain a minimum network → hence the agencies instead of official counters.

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🏫 4. What has replaced ticket offices?

✔ Postal agencies in shops (Migros, Volg, kiosks)

→ More than 1,200 in Switzerland today.

✔ MyPost24 vending machines

→ 24/7 parcel drop-off and collection.

✔ Postmen with home services

→ Payments, registered cheques, cash withdrawals in certain cantons.

✔ Online applications and services

→ Labels, rerouting, payments, identifications.

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 5. Impact on the population

🟢 Benefits

• Extended opening hours (supermarkets open late).
• More places for parcels.
• Fast digital services.

🔴 Disadvantages

• Disappearance of the traditional counter.
• More limited agency services.
• A problem for the elderly and isolated.
• A feeling of loss of an essential public service.

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 6. Today (2025): where do we stand?

• The classic network continues to shrink.
• La Poste says it wants to maintain ~800 counters.
• The cantons sometimes contest these closures.
• Transformation to a model “Hybrid substation” :
  • a few traditional counters
  • many partner agencies
  • more automation