Royal Mail has announced plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs by the end of 2027 as it launches a major restructuring of the postal service.
The company said the proposed reductions will concentrate on head office and support functions as it attempts to simplify the business, cut duplication and respond to the continuing decline in the number of letters being sent.
Royal Mail employs more than 131,000 people across the UK, meaning the planned reduction represents just under 2% of its total workforce. The company intends to achieve the cuts largely through natural staff turnover and voluntary redundancies rather than compulsory job losses.
No separate figure has yet been announced for how many jobs could disappear in Scotland.
Royal Mail has operations across Scotland alongside its extensive network of delivery offices, mail centres and depots.
The company has said frontline delivery workers, including posties and drivers, are not part of the proposed cuts.
Letter volumes have fallen by more than 70% from their peak, while Royal Mail is increasingly competing for the growing parcels market. The company says the changes will allow it to invest more in services for customers and make decisions more quickly.
Chief executive Alistair Cochrane said: “We have been working hard to reduce costs and simplify processes across all areas of the business as we transform to win in a very competitive market.”
He added that the proposals would “remove duplication” and allow further investment in customer services, describing the changes as part of creating a “stronger, simpler and future-ready Royal Mail”.
The announcement is particularly significant for Scotland because Royal Mail is also in the middle of changing the way its universal postal service operates.
Second Class letters and most other non-First Class mail are moving to delivery on alternate weekdays rather than every weekday and Saturday. The new system is being introduced gradually across around 1,200 delivery offices and is expected to be fully implemented by December 2026.
First Class letters will continue to be delivered six days a week, while the universal service retains the principle that customers pay the same price to send a letter anywhere in the UK – an important protection for rural and island communities in Scotland. Parcels can continue to be delivered up to seven days a week.
The Communication Workers Union and Unite CMA have been briefed on the latest restructuring and consultations are under way.