There were 110 million letters sent in Denmark last year, and in 2026, there will apparently be almost none. PostNord, the state-run postal service, announced Thursday that it will end letter deliveries at the end of this year owing to a 90% drop in letter volumes since 2000, when 1.4 billion letters were sent in the mail, per the BBC. Denmark has since become one of the most digitalized countries in the world. Bank statements, bills, drivers' licenses, and health cards are sent electronically. About 95% of Danes use the Digital Post app to receive correspondence with local authorities straight on their smartphone.
While Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen said letters could still be sent and received, PostNord Denmark said society's "increasing digitalization" was a push to "focus on being the Danes' preferred package supplier," per the Guardian. CEO Kim Pedersen said letter volumes had declined by up to 30% just in the past year, per the BBC. "In order for us to create a sustainable business, we need to adapt, and unfortunately this means a difficult decision to say goodbye to some of our colleagues," he said. Some 1,500 of the company's 4,600 workers are at risk of losing their jobs. But this isn't just a Danish problem: On Thursday, Germany's Deutsche Post said it was cutting 8,000 of 187,000 jobs.
"It's a super sad day," one PostNord employee told Danish broadcaster DR, acknowledging the end of a 400-year history of letter deliveries in Denmark. Some have complained the change will disadvantage the elderly and those living in remote areas, per the BBC. Some 1,500 postboxes around the country will start disappearing in June. Danes will be able to refund postage stamps bought in 2024 or 2025 during a limited period next year. PostNord, which is 40% Danish-owned and 60% Swedish-owned, noted letter deliveries in Sweden would not be affected. (More Denmark stories.)
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