Gerdes will leave the company on June 30 "by mutual consent and on the best of terms amid diverging views on the future strategic focus of the company," the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Gerdes had for more than a decade been in charge of the group's Post - eCommerce - Parcel (PeP) division, which was the focus of cost cutting plan unveiled last week when Deutsche Post also slashed its annual profit forecast.

In April, group Chief Executive Frank Appel moved Gerdes to the Corporate Incubations unit, which builds electric delivery vans, and took over leadership of the PeP division himself.

Thomas Ogilvie, board member for personnel, will take on additional responsibility for Corporate Incubations, Deutsche Post said.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Adrian Croft and Mark Potter)

By Ludwig Burger