The sudden decision of the Hellenic Post ELTA to close down 204 of its 456 in total branches across Greece has triggered an outrage on Friday, not only among the communities in remote areas on the mountainous areas or the islands but also among opposition parties and MPs of the ruling party New Democracy.

The decision announced on Friday, October 31, by the management of the public organization ELTA, will go into effect on November 3, 2025.

From the 204 branches to permanently close down, 40 are located in Attica and the remaining 164 in several regions.

The reduction corresponds to approximately 45% of the total network.

Finance Minister: Difficult but necessary decisions

Addressing the reactions to the closure of 204 branches, Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis said then “when it comes to ELTA, all parameters must be taken into account in the decisions. In recent years, the government has provided substantial financial support to ensure ELTA’s survival – not to close them, but to restructure them,” he told the Parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee on the new tax bill.

He acknowledged that the conditions surrounding ELTA “ are of national importance,” explaining that this is precisely why the government supported the organization financially – with a capital increase exceeding 250 million euros and a voluntary exit scheme – aiming at restructuring for long-term viability.

He pointed out that the closure of post office branches “ is not a new issue; it’s a discussion that began under previous governments.”
“ Today, however, we find ourselves where we are,” the minister continued, “ and ELTA still faces major restructuring challenges.”

He noted that the company’s CEO stated earlier that letter mail volumes have fallen to just 10% of what they were a decade ago, underscoring the need for “ difficult decisions.”

“The goal is to survive. ELTA has a problem. Too many problems that they have to deal with. Mail is 10% of what it was. Difficult decisions have to be made. I will agree that every parameter must be taken into account. And this is happening,” the Finance Minister said.

Decline and Fall

This huge restructuring move, which is being attempted once again, indicates in the clearest way that the subsidiary of the Superfund is having difficulty leaving behind it long-standing issues of clumsy handling, severe financial problems, which have been exacerbated by the decline of letter mail, which once constituted its main source of income, and its inability to meet the modern demands of e-commerce.

Despite all efforts, the negative performance picture has not been reversed, as the Organization remains stuck in the area of ​​losses and negative equity.

According to the 2024 statements, ELTA’s revenues reached 249 million euros compared to 243.28 million euros the previous year, recording an increase of 2.3%.

Angry citizens around

Already on social media, Greeks started complaining about the upcoming closure of post offices even in towns with over 20,000 people, some of them with heavy tourism, or military camps and elderly citizens who receive their pension cash by “their” postman as they have not access to ATMs or banks.

Who will replace the ELTA service? The private courier companies, of course, at a higher fee and price.

just to mention that one of the food delivery platforms informed its clients two-three days ago that they can send their packages and/or mails via it. Can you imagine how long they knew it to prepare their new service? Long enough before the Greeks knew it…

PS It’s the usual business among the government and its friends

And to think that the government tries to convince citizens to leave the cities and move to the “waste land” of the countryside.

(Ah, Fck off – excuse my language)