Royal Mail to cut 2,500 jobs as part of sweeping organisational overhaul

Royal Mail has announced plans to eliminate 2,500 head office and support positions by the end of 2027, comprising approximately 2% of its 131,000-strong workforce. The company's chief executive, Alistair Cochrane, explained that these reductions are intended to boost efficiency and enable investment in customer service delivery.

The moves involve voluntary redundancies and employees opting to depart the firm. Royal Mail has been grappling with meeting delivery deadlines for first and second-class mail, resulting in fines from regulators for missing targets in recent years. Moreover, the volume of letters being sent has decreased, and the company has consistently argued that its Universal Service Obligation (USO) – a legal mandate to deliver letters six days a week to every UK address – is outdated and requires reform.