Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan told the Senate on Tuesday that the government is looking at ways to cut Pakistan Post's annual losses, which could reach Rs. 19 billion after pension costs, and may fire staff.
Pakistan Post has roughly 22,000 employees, with a provincial staff count of 15,051 reported to the Senate. Labour costs are a key driver of the agency's expenses.
The minister said a policy to lower operating costs is being prepared, and privatisation is also being weighed.
When Senator Shahadat Awan asked about the issue, Aleem Khan said the government is reviewing options to ease the postal service's financial strain and will present a detailed restructuring plan to the Senate.
At present, Pakistan Post runs 9,707 units across the country, including 2,887 departmental post offices, 6,735 extra-departmental offices and 85 formations.
Workforce reductions are among the measures under consideration to curb spending.
The agency's yearly deficit is about Rs. 12 billion before pension liabilities; adding those costs could raise the total loss to between Rs. 18 billion and Rs. 19 billion.
The upcoming restructuring policy will outline how the government plans to cut costs while keeping postal services running.
