Vinohrady and Žižkov will have the most Czech Post closures – will your branch be affected?

State postal carrier Czech Post (ČP) has today published a list of 300 branches that will all close by the middle of this year. A total of 35 in Prague will shut down by July 1.

The poor finances of the company, which saw losses of over CZK 1 billion last year, are the main reason for the closures, which will see around 1,600 people will lose their jobs.

Digitization, according to ČP, is the main reason for the declining use of the company’s services, ČTK reports. The growth and rising popularity of similar shipping companies such as Zásilkovna also explains less use of ČP branches. Additionally, the openings of local collection spots (such as AlzaPoints) have lessened the need to go to a post office.

ČP announced earlier this year that the closures would predominantly affect larger towns and cities in order to avoid people in villages and small areas being left without a post office altogether. It thus should come as little surprise that over 10 percent of all closures affect the capital.

Prague’s Vinohrady is especially affected – four ČP branches will close in the popular neigborhood. Offices on Bruselská, Italská, Chrudimská streets will close, as will the branch by náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad.

Žižkov will have three fewer branches from July this year. These are on Koněvova, Kubelíkova, and Roháčova streets.

Those living or working in Karlín – home of many offices in the capital – may also be upset to learn that two branches in the district will close. These are the Karolinská Street and Karlínské náměstí offices. 

Residents of the Nové Město district will see just one branch get closed – this will be on Na Florenci Street. The same is true in Prague’s Old Town, where only the Kaprova Street office will cease operations. Malá Strana will also only get one closure, which will be the Újezd branch.

Further away from Prague’s center, two branches will close in Prague’s Vršovice, Michle, and Stodůlky districts. 

Other regions in Prague will see just one closure each – Chodov, Kobylisy, Podolí, and Braník are examples.

In other major Czech cities, Brno wil have 12 fewer branches, Ostrava 19, and Olomuc seven. 

On a national level, the region with the largest number of closures is Moravia-Silesia, where 48 branches will close. Liberec will have the fewest amount offices shutting down operations, at just 13. 

ČP’s troubles have been brewing for some time; in 2021 it reported a CZK 680 million (pre-tax) loss. Two years earlier, the company reported a CZK 376 million deficit. The last six months have seen several price increases for maling letters and making shipments meant to minimize losses. The government also paid in over CZK 1 billion to ČP last year in a bid to help.

ČP Deputy CEO Miroslav Štěpán said earlier this month that, unless serious steps were taken, the state postal carrier risked insolvency in the near future. Czech Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan shared this opinion, and said transformative change is needed if it wants to continue normal functioning in 2024.

With fewer available branches, consumers are at risk of experiencing longer queues. According to ČP's management, this relative inconvenience is essential to give the ailing company a chance to survive.