Royal Mail has announced plans to cut up to 2,500 head office and support roles by the end of 2027, as Britain's postal service pursues a broad organisational review aimed at reducing costs and eliminating duplication across the business. The reductions, which represent less than 2% of Royal Mail's workforce of more than 131,000 employees, will be achieved through a voluntary exit programme and natural attrition, with no compulsory redundancies planned. Frontline postmen, women and drivers are not affected by the proposals.

Chief executive Alistair Cochrane said the company has been working to reduce costs and simplify processes as it transforms to compete, adding that the changes remove duplication and allow further investment in service. The Communication Workers Union and Unite CMA are being consulted over the proposals. The announcement came days after Royal Mail increased the cost of sending parcels and using a number of its tracked and guaranteed services.

Royal Mail's parent company, International Distribution Services, was taken private by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky's EP Group following a £3.6 billion acquisition completed in April 2025, with IDS subsequently delisted from the London Stock Exchange in June 2025. The UK Labour government approved the sale in December 2024, with the deal including commitments to retain the universal service obligation, UK headquarters and tax residency, and a bar on dividend payments unless financial and service targets were met. The CWU had described its agreement with EP Group at the time of the takeover as 'groundbreaking', citing job security commitments, a greater employee stake in the business and governance changes.

The restructuring comes against a backdrop of sustained structural decline in letter volumes. UK addressed letter volumes fell from around 20 billion in 2004/05 to approximately 6.6 billion in 2023/24, a drop of more than 70% from their mid-2000s peak. Royal Mail has also faced regulatory pressure, having been fined a total of £37 million since 2023 for missing delivery targets set by Ofcom. EP Group's logistics pillar, which includes Royal Mail and GLS, generated €10.7 billion in revenue, according to company figures.

Sources: BBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, Global Banking & Finance, Brit Brief, Conservative Post, GB News, Wikipedia