London, United Kingdom (UK)- 10 000 people could find themselves jobless by next August if Royal Mail continues with its plan to axe staff.
According to Royal Mail, the reason to cut jobs is because of the current strike actions by its workers and the continuing decline of its core business.
Royal Mail which employs 140 000 people said it needs to cut up to 6 000 full-time frontline roles in delivery and processing by March 2023 and seek an overall reduction of 10 000 full-time equivalent roles by next August.
“We will be starting the process of consulting on rightsizing the business in response to the impact of industrial action, delays in delivering agreed productivity improvements and lower parcel volumes. Wherever possible, we will look to achieve FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) rightsizing through reductions in overtime, temporary staff and natural attrition,” said Royal Mail in a statement.
In addition, Royal Mail said the eight days of industrial action that have taken place or that had been notified to the company by the Communications Workers Union (CWU), with a further 16 days of potential strike action planned for November and December were taking a toil on the Postal service provider.
“If these take place, the loss for the full year would increase materially and may necessitate further operational restructuring and headcount reduction. We will also continue to push for talks with CWU at Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), which need to be time-bound as the damage from further strikes will only necessitate further changes in the business, beyond those already announced,” added Royal Mail.
However, CWU said the announcement was the result of gross mismanagement and a failed business agenda of ending daily deliveries.
“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.
What the company should be doing is abandoning its asset-stripping strategy and building the future based on utilizing 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,” said CWU’s general-secretary Dave Ward.
Royal Mail’s share price fell by as much as 13 percent in early London trading on Friday, extending its slide for the year to about 64 percent.
