Royal Mail to cut up to 2,500 jobs — The Guardian
Postal service Royal Mail plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs as part of a business restructuring amid competition and a prolonged decline in letter delivery volumes. As The Guardian reports, the changes are expected to be completed by the end of next year.
Job cuts will affect office positions
The company said the cuts would be concentrated at its head office and in supporting-function roles. Royal Mail expects to carry them out through natural staff turnover and a voluntary redundancy programme, without compulsory layoffs.
The operator also assured that it would not reduce the number of employees in operational delivery and mail-processing roles, including postmen and drivers. The planned cuts account for less than 2% of Royal Mail's workforce, which totals more than 131,000 employees.
The Communications Workers Union, which represents frontline workers, said the changes could affect around 200 of its members working in administration and revenue protection. The union's deputy general secretary, Martin Walsh, said the organisation would meet company management to discuss the announced plans.
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Decline in letter volumes
Royal Mail said letter delivery volumes had fallen by more than 70% compared with peak levels in the mid-2000s. Ten years ago, the company delivered around 20 billion letters annually, while the current figure is 6.7 billion. According to the company's estimate, it could fall to 4 billion within four years, while the number of addresses it serves has increased by 4 million over that period.
Royal Mail chief executive Alister Cochrane said the company aims to cut costs and simplify processes in order to operate in a competitive market and invest in customer services.
These are the first job cuts since Czech-based EP Group, owned by Daniel Kretinsky, completed its £3.6 billion acquisition of Royal Mail's parent company, International Distribution Services, last year. In 2022, Royal Mail had already announced plans to cut up to 10,000 positions, including 6,000 full-time roles in operational positions.
Last week, the company also announced the recruitment of 22,000 temporary workers for the seasonal increase in mail and parcel volumes ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and Christmas deliveries.
