Denmark’s state-run postal service will no longer deliver letters

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — No more mail for Denmark: PostNord will stop delivering letters to the Nordic nation at the end of 2025, though package distribution will remain.

PostNord, a state-run agency that services Denmark and Sweden, announced the change Thursday. Roughly 1,500 mailboxes throughout Denmark will be taken down in the second half of the year, and Danes can seek refunds for stamps. An estimated 1,500 of PostNord’s 4,600 employees will be laid off this year.

Sweden’s letter delivery will not be affected, the agency said.

PostNord said the number of letters in Denmark has decreased by 90% since 2000, and by more than 30% in 2024 compared with the year before. The agency blamed an increasingly digital atmosphere in Denmark and worldwide, and 2024 Danish legislation that drove the cost of postage up.

“We have been the Danes’ postal service for 400 years and therefore it is a difficult decision to put a bow on that part of our story,” PostNord Denmark chief executive Kim Pedersen said in a news release. “The Danes have become more and more digital which means that there are very few letters left for us to handle today, and the downturn continues so clearly that the market for letters is no longer profitable.”

Pedersen said the heart of PostNord’s business is parcel delivery, which it will focus on in 2026.

Pelle Dragsted, a member of the Danish parliament, wrote on social platform X that the cessation of letter delivery will unfairly affect Danes who live in remote areas.

Letters can still be sent through private companies, Danish public broadcaster DR reported. The state will ensure that infrastructure remains for mail to be delivered to Denmark’s remote areas, including smaller island communities.

Pedersen also told DR that people can send their letters as packages through PostNord’s parcel shops.

Germany’s Deutsche Post also announced layoffs on Thursday, with plans to cut 8,000 jobs