Swiss Post dispatches chief executive

The director-general of the Swiss postal group has been sacked with immediate effect by the governing board.

The board announced Michel Kunz’s departure in a statement issued on Monday night, following a “difference of opinion on fundamental questions”.

Speaking to French-language radio, the chairman of the board, Claude Béglé, said Kunz had a centralised view of the group. The board saw it as a decentralised organisation with each section developing according to its own abilities.

Béglé noted that Kunz’s savings approach to declining postal volume was insufficient. The fact that Kunz had publicly discussed plans for a tax on receiving letters without consulting with the board could have contributed to the split, he added.

Kunz had been in the position since April 1 when he took over from Ulrich Gygi. He has been replaced by the director of PostFinance, Jürg Bucher.

The union Transfair expressed irritation at the decision and the timing. Parliament is debating new postal laws. The union has called for a government inquiry into how the board arrived at its decision.

swissinfo.ch and agencies