FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX Broker) - Suspected Deutsche Post's thoughts about withdrawing from letter delivery left the shareholders of the Dax group cold on Tuesday. The paper climbed by 0.3 percent in the morning and thus continued to hover around the 40-euro mark. The share was also somewhat friendlier than the leading index itself, which was just in the red. Traders suspected that the move was more a means of exerting pressure on employees.

According to the newspaper "Die Welt", there are plans at the Post to withdraw from the so-called "universal service" and to return the duty of nationwide letter delivery to the state. In this context, 220,000 jobs are at risk. One retailer interpreted the considerations as a warning shot in the direction of the Verdi trade union, which in view of high inflation was demanding 15 percent more pay for postal employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. At the same time, he said, letter delivery had long since lost its importance within the Group./niw/tih/mis