CEO Katri Laanela said that the decision to end periodicals home delivery comes on the heels of deepening financial loss due to input prices growing while print journalism volumes keep dwindling.

"The owners have been subsidizing Express Post activities in recent years, and while we have sought ways to streamline our processes, this is no longer enough," Laanela explained.

This will see Express Post lay off some 450 people, most of them early morning mail carriers.

Unaudited data puts Express Post 2022 turnover at €5.2 million and loss at €1.2 million, compared to €5.2 million and €0.6 million respectively in 2021.

The company will continue to offer call center and subscriber database services, which make up just 7 percent of its total current business volume.

Express Post was founded in 1997 and delivers periodicals, advertising and business letters in and around major cities, in addition to offering call center and subscriber database services. The company is owned in equal share by Estonia's leading private media houses Ekspress Grupp and Postimees Grupp.

Eesti Post board chair: We'll take over deliveries

According to Mart Mägi, chairman of the board of the Estonian state-owned Eesti Post, Express Post's Friday announcement came as no surprise to the universal postal service provider.

"We know that Express Post's financial results have in no way been meeting its owners' expectations," Mägi said.

To date, Eesti Post, which operates under the Omniva brand, hasn't provided early-morning periodical delivery services, but according to the board chair, it will now launch early-morning deliveries in accordance with how Express Post will be wrapping up its own activity. He noted that the transition can be made as smooth as possible.

Asked whether layoffs at Express Post could also be a solution to Eesti Post's own labor shortage, Mägi replied that the latter company hasn't actually had any issues with recruiting for several months already.

Nonetheless, he continued, those being laid off can apply with Eesti Post, as up to two thirds of them could be hired to continue doing their current work.

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