An Post announces 200 new jobs

10 September 2002

Advertisements seeking applications for almost 200 jobs at Athlone and Portlaoise plans will appear in local newspapers in the area later this week.

The jobs are associated with An Post’s €97 million national programme mails automation of which the Athlone installation, with in excess of 100 staff, at the Dublin Road Business Park is phase two.

The Athlone plant, of 50,000 square feet, cost €18 million. It will service mails going and coming from the west and north-west. The Athlone mail centre houses four new automated mail sorting lines.

In full production the new plant will process 400,000 letters, 35,000 flats and 15,000 packets. It is expected to handle inward volumes of 210,000 letters, 30,000 flats and 10,000 packets.

Phase one of the automation programme involved the doubling in size, to 170,000 square feet, of the Dublin Mail centre and the development of the new mail centre at Portlaoise to service requirements in Leinster.

Already the Portlaoise mail centre, which employs almost 100 staff, handles 200,000 items a day. This is scheduled to double over the coming months. In excess of 50 further staff will be recruited to meet this expansion.

The third and final phase of the automation programme is already under way with the building of a new 75,000 square foot mails centre - at Little Island, Cork - which will complete plans for an integrated automated national overnight next day delivery system.

An Post Chief Executive John Hynes said the investment in automation, when complete, would give An Post the capacity to automate the processing of up to 85 per cent of its mails volumes and provide its customers with a high quality next day delivery service.

“Urgent changes are needed as we face into the era of increasing competition arising from liberalisation. We intend to be ready to compete in that new market. As we do so we will continue to provide steady, well-paid employment,” he said.