ROYAL MAIL TO CUT 2,500 JOBS IN ORGANISATIONAL REVIEW

Royal Mail has announced plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs by the end of 2027 as part of an organisational review, the company said. The reductions are expected to affect head office and support roles. Royal Mail said the cuts are expected to be achieved through natural staff turnover and voluntary redundancies rather than compulsory job losses. Chief executive Alistair Cochrane said the company has been working to reduce costs and simplify processes across the business to compete in the market. He said the changes remove duplication and allow further investment in customer service, and said the company is committed to working with trade unions throughout the process.

Royal Mail described the move as part of a wider "significant transformation" linked to universal service reform. It comes days after Cochrane said he was sorry for poor performance and said the company's "biggest transformation in generations" would reach most areas before Christmas, according to the company. Royal Mail pointed to performance figures to June showing a 9 per cent improvement in delivery rates for First Class letters and a 2 per cent improvement for Second Class post, which it described as "encouraging signs". In the first three months of the 2026-27 financial year, 85 per cent of First Class letters arrived within a day, according to the company's own figures.

That figure remains below the 90 per cent target set by the regulator, Ofcom. Cochrane said the proposed job cuts "will not be easy" but described them as an important step towards building what he called a stronger, simpler and more future-ready Royal Mail for customers and staff. The company said discussions with trade unions would continue as the plans are implemented. No compulsory redundancies have been confirmed at this stage, according to Royal Mail.