CONSIGNIA, formerly known as the Post Office, has attempted to reassure local residents about the future of town post offices after the firmÕs recent job cut announcement.

The assurance comes after speculation that post offices around the country are to close after it was announced on Monday that 15,000 jobs are to be cut, as part of a cost cutting exercise, over the next year.

However, Consignia spokeswoman, Helen Fox, told The Herald that the majority of the jobs lost will be in the loss-making Parcelforce Worldwide business, which will affect cities including Basingstoke and Portsmouth.

ÒWe have not announced anything finally yet. We have said that a lot of our urban post offices are struggling to survive because there are a number of post offices competing against one another in one city,Ó she said.

ÒAs a result we are going to have to make some firm decisions on their future.Ó

Consignia is losing £1.5 million a day and the redundancies would be the greatest shake-up in the post officeÕs 300-year history.

New technologies including text messaging and e-mail have resulted in fewer letters being sent and this has contributed to the reported loss in ConsigniaÕs profit.

Letter deliveries are losing the firm £1million a day. It spends 28 pence to deliver a 27p first-class letter.

The company hopes to save £1.2 billion a year through the cuts, which come as the market for postal deliveries is opened up to competition in a three-stage process starting this year.

Phase one from 2002 to March 31 2004

Bulk mail above 4,000 items and certain niche services - about 30 per cent of ConsigniaÕs market by value

Phase two from April 1 2004 to March 31 2006

Open a further 30 per cent of the market by lowering the bulk mail threshold to between 500 and 1,000 items per mailing.

Phase three no later than March 31 2006

All restrictions on market entry abolished.

There are currently 17,654 post offices throughout the country, 8,688 of which are in rural areas like Bordon and Alton.

Consignia has agreed with Postal Services Commission, Postcomm, that although some post offices will be closed 95 per cent of residents living in rural areas in the UK will have a post office within a 10 km radius of their homes.

While residents living in urban areas will have a post office within a 5 km radius.