Zoom Image
Postman: "Costs have risen dramatically"
Photograph:
Frank Rumpenhorst/ dpa
"We can't understand how you can come to this decision," DHL CEO Tobias Meyer told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Inflation is higher than expected, and costs have risen dramatically. "The question arises: Do regulators and politicians even want us to continue the mail business and invest here?"
"The framework conditions have to be right so that we can work economically," said Meyer. Trying to enforce more competition in a shrinking mail market with a crowbar is nonsensical from an economic point of view and not good for working conditions. People's communication behaviour has changed enormously in the last 25 years, but the Postal Act has not changed since then.
Deutsche Post is not allowed to increase postage for letters and postcards in 2024. The Federal Network Agency had rejected a corresponding application from the Bonn-based group. Swiss Post is making a profit in the mail business with private customers, the Federal Network Agency said in justification. The letter prices were sufficient.
The fact that Deutsche Post has not yet been able to freely decide on its letter prices is due to its high market power: According to the Federal Network Agency, the former state-owned company transports about 85 percent of all letters in Germany. With the decision of the Network Agency, the letter postage is fixed for consumers until the end of 2024. The price for a standard letter is currently 85 cents.
ssu/Reuters