ROYAL Mail has confirmed plans to do away with 5000 to 6000 jobs by next August.
The postal company - which has blamed industrial action for mammoth financial losses - said it will begin notifying workers of its plan, which aims to reduce the overall headcount by 10,000.
Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson said on Friday that the planned redundancies are a “minimum” and more could take place if current strike action is extended.
Dave Ward, boss of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) condemned the move as a result of “gross mismanagement and a failed business agenda”.
The firm said the move is 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 5000 full-time equivalent roles by March and around 10,000 by August.
READ MORE: David Dimbleby prompts fury with claim that Gaelic TV funding robs BBC 'by stealth'
This is expected to require between 5000 to 6000 redundancies by August.
Royal Mail is expected to fall to a £350 million operating loss for the year after being hit by industrial action, its parent group International Distributions Services (IDS) said.
The company, which employs around 140,000 people, said this could increase to a roughly £450 million loss if customers move elsewhere following the initial strike action.
It came as IDS told shareholders Royal Mail suffered a £219m operating loss over the first half of its financial year, tumbling from a £235m profit a year earlier.
Royal Mail said this included a roughly £70m hit from three days of strike action.
The cuts announcement comes a day after Royal Mail workers in the CWU launched a fresh strike in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
READ MORE: We're offering a year-long subscription – at any price you can afford
Action by the CWU is expected to take place over a further 19 days, including key dates in the build-up to Christmas.
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 £219m 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.”
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.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel