DPD couriers face substantial earnings loss from cut in delivery payments

The pay decreases are likely to add up to more than £6,000 a year for each driver, representatives said. Photograph: Justin Kase zsixz/Alamy

Thousands of couriers face losing substantial portions of their earnings in the new year after managers at the delivery firm DPD vowed to force through rate cuts after the busy Christmas period.

About 1,500 drivers are thought to have stopped work on Tuesday after the company, which reported pre-tax profits of nearly £200m, announced a 65p cut in the rate for most of its deliveries in an early morning email on 29 September.