The Post Office plans to close 115 branches and says about 2,000 jobs are at risk as part of a plan that will result in post office operator pay increasing by £250m over the next five years.

The Post Office confirmed on Wednesday that it was seeking to offload 115 branches, known as crown post offices, it centrally owns, but said it expected to maintain the total network at 11,500 branches across the UK.

The plans come against the backdrop of the public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal, described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in UK history.

The move puts at risk approximately 1,000 jobs, although the Post Office expects that all the branches will be refranchised to new owners over the next five years.

Approximately 2,000 branches are operated by partners including Tesco, WH Smith and Morrisons, and about 9,000 are run by independent operators that have a contract with the Post Office.

The Post Office is also “streamlining” its central operations, with speculation that this will lead to about 1,000 further job cuts.

The plans also include increasing post office branch owner remuneration by £250m annually by 2030, with up to £120m in additional remuneration by the end of the first year of the five-year plan, a 30% increase in revenue share.

“The Post Office has a 360-year history of public service and today we want to secure that service for the future by learning from past mistakes and moving forward for the benefit of all postmasters,” said Nigel Railton, the chair of the Post Office. “We can, and will, restore pride in working for a business with a legacy of service, rather than one of scandal.”

The Post Office said the planned increase in the operators’ share of revenue remained subject to securing funding from the government, which is the sole shareholder, but that it would double the average remuneration at each branch by 2030.

The government said it was in “active discussions” with the Post Office about the proposed cuts.

“Post offices are an integral part of the communities they serve and the services they provide for local people,” a spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said. “The government is in active discussion with Nigel Railton on his plans to put postmasters at the centre of the organisation and strengthen the post office network for its long-term future.”

Part of the “new deal” also includes establishing a postmaster panel consisting of serving branch owner operators to “help the business to improve the support and training it provides to postmasters”.

The Post Office has two postmaster non-executive directors on its board – Saf Ismail and Elliot Jacobs – a measure introduced in 2021 in a move to repair relations and improve oversight as part of an attempt to overhaul the organisation and “right the wrongs of the past” after the Horizon scandal.

“The last few years have been challenging for many retailers and postmasters are no exception,” Jacobs said. “It’s vital that the Post Office embarks on this major transformation plan so that we have a sustainable financial future, and one that benefits the thousands of postmasters who work tirelessly day in, day out to support the local people and businesses who rely on us for essential everyday services.”

The branches at risk

• Aldwych

• Antrim

• Baker Street

• Bangor

• Barnes Green

• Barnet

• Belfast City

• Bexhill-on-Sea

• Bideford

• Birmingham

• Bransholme

• Breck Road

• Bridlington

• Brixton

• Broadway

• Caernarfon

• Cambridge City

• Canning Town

• Chester-le-Street

• City of London

• Clapham Common

• Cosham

• Cricklewood

• Crossgates

• Croydon High Street

• Dereham

• Didsbury Village

• Dunraven Place

• East Dulwich

• Eccles

• Eccleston Street

• Edinburgh City

• Furness House

• Glasgow

• Gloucester

• Golders Green

• Great Portland Street

• Grimsby

• Haddington

• Hampstead

• Harlesden

• Harold Hill

• High Holborn

• Houndsditch

• Hyde

• Inverness

• Islington

• Kendal

• Kennington Park

• Kensington

• Kettering

• Kilburn

• Kingsbury

• Kingsland High Street

• Kirkwall

• Knightsbridge

• Leigh

• Leighton Buzzard

• Liskeard

• London Bridge

• Derry

• Lower Edmonton

• Lupus Street

• Manchester

• Matlock

• Melville Road

• Merthyr Tydfil

• Milton Keynes

• Morecambe

• Morley

• Mount Pleasant

• Mutley

• Nailsea

• Newquay

• Newtownards

• Northolt

• Old Swan

• Oswestry

• Oxford

• Paddington Quay

• Paignton

• Port Talbot

• Portsmouth

• Poulton-le-Fylde

• Prestwich

• Raynes Park

• Redditch

• Roman Road

• Romsey

• Rotherham

• Salford City

• Saltcoats

• Sheffield City

• South Ockendon

• South Shields

• Southall

• Springburn Way

• St Johns

• St Peters Street

• Stamford

• Stamford Hill

• Stockport

• Stornoway

• Stroud

• Sunderland City

• Teignmouth

• The Markets

• Vauxhall Bridge road

• Wealdstone

• Westbourne

• Wester Hailes

• Windsor

• Worlds End

• Yate Sodbury