Consignia to cut 11,000 jobs

CONSIGNIA, the company once known as the Post Office, is to announce on Monday the loss of 11,000 jobs as part of a restructuring programme aiming to cut costs and improve profits, it has been reported.

Parcel Force, which has been losing money for 10 years, is expected to bear the brunt of the cuts, with around half of its 12,000 workforce facing the axe as the closure of several depots is announced.

Consignia, which operates Royal Mail, Parcel Force and the post office network, is likely to offer voluntary redundancies in a package reportedly worth £400m. Jobs will also go in administration and central management of the Post Office while cuts are also expected at a later stage in Royal Mail.

Chairman Allan Leighton said recently that up to 30,000 jobs could be cut as part of the longer-term bid to cut costs by 15% (or £1.2bn) and become more efficient as the market is opened up to competition.

A spokesman for Consignia confirmed the company would be making restructuring announcements shortly but declined to comment on any job cuts until employees had been consulted.

'Consignia is losing money at the rate of £1.5m every day. The current business model will not sustain the level of costs we are incurring and this is putting the future of our services at risk,' said the spokesman.