The Danish postal service has said it will deliver its last letter at the end of this year, instead focusing on packages to respond to changing forms of communication.

PostNord said on Thursday it would cut 1,500 jobs in Denmark and remove 1,500 red postboxes, citing the “increasing digitalisation” of society.

The company, formed in 2009 in a merger of the Swedish and Danish postal services, is owned by the Danish and Swedish states in a respective 40:60 split. Letter distribution in Sweden would not be affected, it said.

The Danish postal service has been responsible for delivering letters in the country since 1624, but since 2000 the number of letters has declined by more than 90%, it said.

PostNord Denmark will deliver its last letter on 30 December.