Belgian Government Rejects Bpost Plan to Close 30 Post Offices and 500 Postal Points

The Belgian government has rejected a cost-saving plan by national postal service Bpost that proposed closing 30 post offices and 500 postal points across the country. Minister of Public Enterprises Vanessa Matz (Les Engagés) presented the plan to the core cabinet, but it was swiftly dismissed due to a perceived regional imbalance and questions over whether the proposed closures would achieve meaningful savings.

Background: The €50 Million Savings Target

The rejection is the latest development in a tense standoff between the government and Bpost over the company’s financial future. The De Wever government — nicknamed “Arizona” after the colors of its coalition parties — committed in its coalition agreement to save €50 million per year on Bpost. The current government subsidy of €124.9 million is set to be reduced to approximately €75 million, as reported by Het Laatste Nieuws.

Bpost is a unique entity: a former state monopoly that was partially privatized and listed on the Euronext Brussels stock exchange, yet in which the Belgian government remains the majority shareholder. The company has been under significant financial pressure from declining letter mail volumes, rising parcel deliveries driven by e-commerce growth, and intense competition from private delivery companies.

The Rejected Plan

Matz’s proposal called for closing 30 of Bpost’s 655 post offices and 500 of its 637 postal points — small service points often located in newsagents or local shops. However, the plan faced immediate backlash within the government for several reasons.

Regional imbalance was a primary concern: 26 of the 30 post office closures were in Flanders, including locations in Antwerp — the city of Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) — and De Pinte, the municipality of Vice Premier Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V). Only four closures were planned in Wallonia.

Government sources questioned the logic of closing postal points, noting that these locations employ no Bpost staff and are run by third-party businesses. “We ask ourselves where exactly the saving lies in closing postal points, because no postal staff work there,” a government source told HLN.

Moreover, the plan would only achieve approximately half of the required €50 million in savings, according to government estimates. A separate proposal to stop routing election mail through Bpost and instead use a public tender from the Interior Ministry was also rejected as a cost-shifting exercise rather than genuine savings.

Political Fallout

The rejection reveals significant fault lines within the coalition government. The plan was seen as poorly prepared and politically tone-deaf, particularly for targeting the constituencies of the Prime Minister and Vice Premier. Matz faced criticism from within her own government for delivering the plan late and without sufficient preparation.

According to VRT NWS, the social situation at Bpost remains fragile. The company was hit by a major strike wave earlier in 2026 over plans to change postal workers’ working hours from early morning to later in the day — a shift driven by the transition from letter delivery to parcel delivery. A social agreement was reached in late May 2026, but tensions persist.

What’s at Stake

The timing is critical. The new management contract between Bpost and the Belgian state — which defines public service obligations, accessibility standards, and the level of government subsidy — needs approval before the summer recess to pass European Commission scrutiny this year. If the deadline is missed, the old contract continues and the planned €50 million saving for 2027 is lost.

Bpost spokesperson Mathieu Goedefroy acknowledged the uncertainty weighing on employees: “But the uncertainty about where the government wants to go with the new management contract weighs on our people. And especially what the impact of the planned savings will be.”

Bpost has stated it is “working constructively with the government to reach a solution that combines accessibility for citizens with a future-proof and financially sustainable network.”

Analysis and Forward Look

The rejection of Matz’s plan represents a significant political setback and highlights the difficulty of implementing cost-cutting measures in politically sensitive public services. The regional imbalance was particularly damaging, creating a community conflict within the government coalition.

For Bpost, the uncertainty is damaging. The company cannot plan its future without knowing the terms of the new management contract. The potential for renewed social unrest looms large — Bpost’s workforce has already demonstrated its willingness to strike, and further cuts could trigger another wave of industrial action that would further damage the company’s already declining stock price.

Minister Matz has been sent back to the drawing board. The key question now is whether she can present an alternative plan that achieves the required savings without triggering a political firestorm — and whether it can be approved before the summer recess.