We got Christmas right, says Royal Mail

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/NEWS ... oyal_Mail/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ROYAL Mail said its Christmas went to plan after hiring thousands of extra staff – including 800 in Swindon – to cope with increased demand.

The company said it handled about 120 million parcels in the UK during December, a rise of 4 per cent on the year before. Despite the growth, it said trading conditions were “highly competitive”.

Amazon’s increased use of its own network for deliveries means that the revenues from its parcel business were flat in the nine months up to December 28. It also forced City Link out of business last month, with 54 staff in Swindon losing their jobs.

Royal Mail introduced extra sorting capacity with 10 temporary hubs and training for 19,000 extra staff ahead of the festive period.

Chief executive Moya Greene said planning for Christmas started in April.

She added: “Our postmen and women delivered a great service over the busy festive period.

"Royal Mail delivered one of its highest-ever quality of service performances for parcel delivery to our customers over the month.”

The number of addressed letters were down three per cent in the nine months up to the end of December.