Royal Mail Organisational Review Puts 2,500 London Office Jobs at Risk

Royal Mail is planning to cut up to 2,500 head-office and support-function jobs by the end of 2027, putting hundreds of London-based roles at risk in its first major round of redundancies since being taken over by EP Group.

The company said the proposals, which are subject to consultation, would be delivered through natural attrition and a voluntary redundancy programme, with no compulsory redundancies. It said frontline operational roles in delivery and processing, including posties and drivers, would not be reduced.

Royal Mail employs more than 131,000 people, so the proposed reductions represent less than 2 per cent of its workforce.

Alistair Cochrane, chief executive, said the changes were intended to cut costs, simplify processes and remove duplication, helping to build a 'stronger, simpler and future-ready' Royal Mail. The company said the savings would allow further investment in customer service and digital tools used by customers and businesses.

Royal Mail said it had briefed the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Unite CMA on the plans, and that formal consultation was under way.

Which Jobs Are at Risk

The affected roles are in head-office and support functions, covering areas such as administration, management and back-office operations. Royal Mail's head office is at Mount Pleasant in central London, but the company has described the proposals as covering support functions more broadly rather than only London-based staff.

Royal Mail has not provided a breakdown of how many of the 2,500 roles are based in London compared with the rest of the UK. Staff in corporate and professional functions across regional offices are expected to be included in the consultation, alongside those at the central London headquarters.

The company has said it will seek to manage reductions through a combination of not filling vacancies, offering voluntary redundancy and exploring redeployment opportunities where possible.

Takeover, Promises and Job Security

The proposals follow the £3.6 billion takeover of International Distribution Services (IDS), Royal Mail's parent company, by EP Group, owned by the Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský. The deal was completed in 2025.

Before the takeover, the government agreed legally binding commitments with EP Group. These cover issues including Royal Mail's UK headquarters, tax residency, the universal service and workforce arrangements.

The commitments are intended to preserve key elements of Royal Mail's operations in the UK, but they do not prevent management from carrying out organisational reviews or voluntary redundancy schemes. Government has not announced any intervention in response to the latest proposals.

Regulator Changes the Rules

The regulatory framework for Royal Mail has changed since the takeover. In July 2025, Ofcom removed the requirement to deliver second-class letters six days a week, allowing delivery on alternate weekdays from Monday to Friday. The six-day requirement for first-class letters remains. Ofcom said the changes were intended to support the financial sustainability of the universal service.

Royal Mail has also faced scrutiny over its delivery performance. Ofcom fined the company £21m in October 2025 after it missed its first and second-class targets for 2024/25.

In June, Ofcom opened a further investigation into the company's 2025/26 performance. Royal Mail reported that 75.7 per cent of first-class mail was delivered within one working day, against a target of 93 per cent. For second class, 90.2 per cent of mail was delivered within three working days, against a target of 98.5 per cent.

Unions Weigh up the Plans

Royal Mail and the CWU have previously clashed over pay, working practices and the company's transformation programme. The union has accused Royal Mail of 'managed decline' in the past.

Relations have not been uniformly strained, however. In April, the CWU announced an agreement with Royal Mail on the national implementation of universal service reform and on pay and terms.

The union has not yet been reported to have set out a full response to the latest proposals. Unite CMA, which represents managers at Royal Mail, has also been briefed on the review.