BREAKING NEWS: Royal Mail to axe 6,000 jobs after falls in volumes and productivity

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said on Friday, October 14 that it was seeking an urgent meeting with the company to discuss the planned reductions.

A statement issued by the union said that it wanted to put forward an alternative business plan saying that “gross mismanagement” was to blame for the issues.

Royal Mail, however, said in an updated trading statement that industrial action, delays in improving productivity and falling parcel volumes were to blame for the loss of £219m for the first half of this financial year.

Roughly £70 million of the loss was directly attributable to the three days of industrial action according to the company. Members of the CWU have recently been engaged in strike action over pay and conditions. 

That strike saw around 115,000 employees walk out with more strike action planned.

“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.”

The news that the Royal Mail is to axe 6,000 jobs won’t come as a surprise to many with competition increasing in the parcel business and the volume of standard mail falling.

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