La Poste plans to invest €81 million in mail business expansion in the Brittany region in thenorth-west of France, over the next three years, French media reported.
More than half of the investment (€48 million) is planned for the construction of a new mailsorting centre in the south of Rennes between Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande andNoyal-Châtillon-sur-Seiche, according to the French newspaper Ouest-France.
The new 24,000 sqm centre will run 24 hours a day on 6 days per week with a sorting capacityof more than 2.7 million items per day distributed to the Brittany regions Ille-et-Vilaine,Morbihan and Côtes-d’Armor. The depot will be equipped with 11 state-of-the-art sorting machineswith the capacity to handle up to 50,000 items per hour.
Raymond Redding, General Director of La Poste’s Mail division, was cited as saying: “The mailbusiness will not disappear due to the internet. Thanks to our investment, we will be able toachieve our aim of delivering 90% of the mail at J+1, meaning one day after dispatch.”
The number of future employees at the site is not yet determined, but La Poste has committednot to lay off staff. Redding commented: “There will be no layoffs but we do not replace theretired employees. Changes in the workforce will depend on the development of mail operations.Anyway, we will fight against the internet or we will disappear.”
In addition, La Poste will invest about €12 million in the renovation and enlargement of itssorting centre in Brest Guivapas, western Brittany, in order to maximise the capacity to 920,000items per day.
This year, the company also plans to open two new call centres at Vannes and at Saint-Brieuc,Brittany, and create a large network of 20 platforms for preparation and distribution of mailacross the Brittany region.
