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Denmark's state-run postal service, PostNord, will end its 400-year-old letter delivery service at the end of 2025 due to a 90% drop in letter volumes since the start of the century. The company will begin removing Denmark's 1,500 post boxes from June.
Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen sought to reassure Danes, saying letters would still be sent and received as "there is a free market for both letters and parcels".
Postal services across Europe are grappling with the decline in letter volumes. Germany's Deutsche Post said on Thursday it was axing 8,000 jobs, in what it called a "socially responsible manner". Deutsche Post has 187,000 employees and staff representatives said they feared more cuts were to come.
Denmark had a universal postal service for 400 years until the end of 2023, but as digital mail services have taken hold, the use of letters has fallen dramatically.
Denmark ranks as one of the world's most digitized countries. There's an app for almost everything: few people use cash, and Danes even carry drivers' licences and health cards on their smartphones. Bank statements, bills, and correspondence from local authorities are all sent electronically.
Public services send communications via a Digital Post app or other platforms and PostNord Denmark says the letter market is no longer profitable.
Letter numbers have fallen since the start of the century from 1.4 billion to 110 million last year.
The decision will affect elderly people most. Although 95% of Danes use the Digital Post service, a reported 271,000 people still rely on physical mail.
PostNord has weathered years of financial struggles and last year was running a deficit.
Danish MP Pelle Dragsted blamed privatisation for the move and complained the move would disadvantage people living in remote areas.
The introduction of a new Postal Act in 2024 opened up the letter market to competition from private firms and mail is no longer exempted from VAT, resulting in higher postage costs.
The company said it would switch its focus to parcel deliveries and that any postage stamps bought this year or in 2024 could be refunded for a limited period in 2026.
