Now there is a risk of terminations in the parcel center
Digitec Galaxus downgrades Swiss Post
In order to save costs and be able to deliver even faster, the Migros subsidiary Digitec Galaxus will increasingly rely on a private transport company in the future. Unions say it doesn’t bode well for staff.
Digitec Galaxus, the number one in Swiss online trading, has been one of Swiss Post’s largest customers for 20 years. This spring, the two companies renegotiated their cooperation. The online retailer promised to transport around eleven million items by post over the next three years. The yellow giant therefore assumed that it would continue to be Digitec Galaxus’ exclusive partner in the future.
But this week, Digitec Galaxus suddenly informed Swiss Post that they wanted to work more with another logistics partner from autumn. The majority of bulky goods shipments and also packages that are ready for collection very late are to be handled by Planzer in the future.
A spokesman for Digitec Galaxus says: “There was never an agreement regarding exclusivity between us and the post office.” In addition, Swiss Post remains an important partner: “We will continue to send more than 80 percent of our total parcel volume via Swiss Post.”
One million fewer shipments per year
However, the news came as a surprise to the post office, as shown by an internal statement available to SonntagsBlick. Swiss Post assumes that over a million fewer items will be processed each year – and that the whole thing will also have personnel consequences. Temporary employees are directly affected, especially in the regional parcel center Bützberg. Attempts are being made to offer the affected employees a new job at other locations. But layoffs cannot be ruled out.
The companies disagree about the causes of the relationship crisis. “The reason Digitec Galaxus gave for the change of service provider was that other providers offer bulky goods cheaper and accept the packages even later than the post office,” says a post spokeswoman.
48-hour week at Planter
A spokesman for Digitec Galaxus, on the other hand, asserts “technical and procedural reasons”, for example sorting systems that can process larger parcel dimensions. The Migros subsidiary also emphasizes that the working conditions of the new partner Planzer have been checked and that they are convinced that they are “very good”.
The union Syndicom sees it differently. “Planzer is not subject to any collective labor agreement, the normal working week is 48 hours. In the logistics industry, only Swiss Post employees benefit from a collective employment contract,” explains a spokesman. Digitec Galaxus therefore decides against a partner company that guarantees fair employment conditions. This means that the tough competition in the delivery logistics market is once again being exploited for cost savings. The result: low wages for employees.