Canada Post Cutting Management Jobs as It Undergoes Restructuring

A Canada Post worker arrives for work in Montreal on Dec. 17, 2024. The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi

Canada Post has laid off an unspecified number of management employees this week, saying the move is meant to cut costs and restructure amid an ongoing contract dispute.

In a memo sent to employees Oct. 28, Canada Post CEO Doug Ettinger said the layoffs are being done in order to restructure the Crown corporation and better meet its “future needs,” according to a copy of the document sent to the Epoch Times by Canada Post. Several media outlets, citing anonymous sources, said dozens of management positions have been cut.

“While these decisions are sometimes necessary, they are never taken lightly,” Ettinger wrote, adding that the agency must “ensure our costs better align to our financial realities, which means our organization will be leaner at all levels going forward.”

Canada Post said in an Oct. 28 statement to the Epoch Times that it will keep its external hiring freeze in place and cut a number of employees primarily through attrition. This past January, several senior Canada Post executives were also laid off.

“As we continue to work on our transformation plan to implement the measures announced by the government on September 25, we will not be sharing further details,” Canada Post said.

“However, we can confirm that the changes will align with the government’s expectation that leadership and structural change from within the corporation is essential. Canada Post must take decisive action to deliver the services Canadians need in a way that is financially sustainable.”

In September, the federal government authorized Canada Post to begin implementing a number of cost-saving cuts aimed at improving its financial situation, including reducing door-to-door mail delivery, switching 4 million  homes from home delivery to community mailboxes, closing a number of rural post offices, and changing non-priority mail from air mail to ground delivery. Ottawa estimates the changes could save Canada post up to $500 million per year.

Public Works Minister Joël Lightbound said last month that his proposal to close a number of rural Canada Post offices and end home delivery is necessary in order to keep the financially troubled agency operational. Lightbound noted that Canada Post is effectively “insolvent” and has accrued more than $5 billion in losses since 2018, with an estimated $1.5 billion in losses this year alone.

He said that the Crown corporation will finish its plan for an overhaul in 45 days. Ottawa’s Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates is currently holding hearings on a complete overhaul of Canada Post.

In response to the sweeping changes, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), representing about 55,000 members, announced an immediate nationwide strike last month, while a protracted labour dispute was already ongoing.

The strike, which began on Sept. 25, was suspended on Oct. 10, while rotating strikes are still taking place in various locations, leading to disruptions and delays in postal service.

Canada Post announced on Oct. 28 that it will recommence contract talks with CUPW with the assistance of a mediator.

The union and agency are set to meet later this week with no date confirmed. In addition to the recent strike, labour negotiations have been ongoing for almost two years over salary and work demands.

The parties last met on Oct. 3 when Canada Post put forward a revised offer that was rejected by CUPW, with president Jan Simpson saying it was merely a rehashing of an already-rejected earlier offer.