16,000 jobs at risk at Royal Mail

Royal Mail is looking to cut costs which could result in the loss of 16,000 jobs. The news is grim for an economy that is already losing thousands of jobs each week.

It has emerged that bosses have written to employees offering voluntary redundancy or the option to work part-time.

Royal Mail, which has a workforce of around 160,000, is looking to reduce its wage bill by £470 million. Since 2002, it has axed 50,000 jobs.

Last month, the company announced record profits of £255 million for the nine months to the end of December 2008, compared with £162 million for the 2007/08 financial year.

Communication Workers Union spokesperson, Sian Jones, said any redundancies would affect deliveries. She added that the Union is ‘angry‘ that job losses are being spoken about in the light of record profits last year.

A spokesperson for the Royal Mail told the Daily Mail that “we have absolutely no plans to cut 16,000 jobs but there is a programme to cut overheads and central costs which is not about our front line people.

We want to work with our people so that we take into account their wishes and preferences as Royal Mail continues to modernise and transform its operations to meet the challenges of falling mail volumes and intensifying competition, especially from email and the web as broadband use expands.”

Story link: 16,000 jobs at risk at Royal Mail