Ofcom concerned Royal Mail could unfairly subsidise its parcels operation via its letters business

Royal Mail will take on an additional 19,000 employees for the Christmas peak season, 2,600 of whom are intended for its Parcelforce operation.

Royal Mail has admitted that the threat of industrial action and the introduction of size-based parcel pricing led to volumes being flat in the first nine months of the current financial year.

Strike action among staff at Royal Mail over pay and conditions has so far cost the business £200m, according to its owner. However, in a trading update it also said that the number of voluntary redundancies it needed to hit its targets would be “significantly lower” than the 5,000-6,000 it previously forecast, due a strong […]