Royal Mail to cut 700 management roles throughout the UK

The Royal Mail is set to cut 700 management roles throughout the UK as part of cost cutting measures.

The company revealed the plans in an announcement as part of their Transformation Programme despite a surge in online shopping and deliveries during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Around 439 million parcels were handled by Royal Mail in a three month period between October and December.

However, it was also revealed that some postal services were left struggling through staff absences which peaked at 15,000 in early January due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

Bosses say the cuts will reduce costs by around £40m a year.

Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson said: “With the rise of Omicron, absence has been around twice pre-Covid levels, with around 15,000 staff off sick or isolating in early January. Thankfully, this is now improving.

“We are resolutely focused on addressing these issues which have affected our service in some parts of the country.

“Year to date we have spent more than £340m on overtime, additional temporary staffing and sick pay, as well as providing targeted support for the offices most impacted.”

On the planned job cuts, he said: “We have today entered into formal consultation on a management reorganisation to further streamline our operations and, at the same time, improve focus on local performance.

“We are committed to conducting the process sensitively, working closely with our people and their representatives.

“We have a track record of delivering change through natural turnover, redeployment and voluntary redundancy wherever possible.”