Royal Mail wants to cut letter service to five days a week amid hefty losses from strike action

Royal Mail has announced that they have taken huge losses from the ongoing strike action and have asked the government to cut letter services to five days a week.

Simon Thompson the chief of Royal Mail has said he will do “whatever it takes” to turn the company around after half year results fell to £219 million in underlying operating loss in the 26 weeks to 25 September compared to £235 million the previous year.

Three days of strike action in the first half has cost Royal Mail around £70 million and the five days of industrial action cost a further £30 million.

Royal Mail are now in “intensive” talks with unions to prevent further strikes and are planning 6,000 redundancies in an overhaul.

Thompson, chief executive of Royal Mail, said, “We have always been clear we need change to survive.

“We have started turning the business around and will do whatever it takes.”

He added, “We would prefer to reach agreement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) but in any case we are moving ahead with changes to transform our business.”

A Government spokesman said there are “no current plans to change the universal service.”

He added, “While we recognise the issues that Royal Mail raise, there would need to be a strong case that showed changes would meet reasonable needs of users of postal services and ensure the financial sustainability of the universal postal service.”