Royal Mail has said it has started the process of consulting on a programme of job cuts which is expected to see around 10,000 fulltime roles axed by August next year.
Parent group International Distribution Services has it has started the process of consulting over “rightsizing the business in response to the impact of industrial action, delays in delivering agreed productivity improvements and lower parcel volumes”.
It said it is seeking short-term cost efficiencies through the planned reduction of 5,000 fulltime equivalent roles by March and around 10,000 by August.
It said this expected to require up to 6,000 redundancies by August.
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It came amid a warning by parent group International Distributions Services that Royal Mail is expected to tumble to a £350 million operating loss for the year after being hit by industrial action.
Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson said: “This is a very sad day. I regret that we are announcing these job losses.
“We will do all we can to avoid compulsory redundancies and support everyone affected.
“We have announced today losses of £219 million in the first half of the year. Each strike day weakens our financial situation.
“The CWU’s decision to choose damaging strike action over resolution regrettably increases the risk of further headcount reductions.”
Commenting on Royal Mail’s threats to axe up to 10,000 jobs by August, CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said: “The announcement is the result of gross mismanagement and a failed business agenda of ending daily deliveries, a wholesale levelling-down of the terms, pay and conditions of postal workers, and turning Royal Mail into a gig economy style parcel courier.
“What the company should be doing is abandoning its asset-stripping strategy and building the future based on utilising the competitive edge it already has in its deliveries to 32 million addresses across the country.
“The CWU is calling for an urgent meeting with the Board and will put forward an alternative business plan at that meeting.
“This announcement is holding postal workers to ransom for taking legal industrial action against a business approach that is not in the interests of workers, customers or the future of Royal Mail. This is no way to build a company.”
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