Romanian Post criticises its restructuring plan dictated by government

The general manager of the Romanian Post, Valentin Stefan (PNL), stated that the company’s management has drafted the reorganisation, restructuring, and financial recovery plan for the company to reduce accounting losses from previous years, only because the government asked it to do so – but he personally does not believe in the document, Profit.ro reported. In turn, the company could improve its profit by firing 2,000 employees, who are redundant at this moment, he said, adding that the executive wouldn’t accept this solution.

The Romanian Post has posted net profits since 2016 (the company has not yet filed its 2025 financial reports), after it accumulated wide losses (and debt) during 2009-2015.

It does not make sense to ask the company to pay its historic debts – instead, it should be allowed to focus on investments, Stefan argued. The bank’s management envisages entering the financial services market, along a model followed by similar companies in Sweden and Italy, he said.

The Romanian Post will apply for a license from the National Bank of Romania (BNR) and plans to extend short-term loans at a more affordable cost compared to other non-bank financial markets, Valentin Stefan said. However, the company’s new core activity, which the shareholders are invited to approve, is “other financial services” (or NACE 6499), not including financial intermediation but rather payments.

In the meantime, the document drafted for the government, to be discussed and approved by the shareholders (Fondul Proprietatea holds 6.25%), is just some paperwork for the government, Stefan explained, according to Profit.ro.

“It's a plan we don't believe in, but we did it because we were forced to do it,” the general manager said, implying that the government forces all state-owned enterprises to follow the same recovery policies.

(Photo source: Facebook/Posta Romana)