Worcester Royal Mail delivery centre to be downgraded

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Plans to close a mail centre and downgrade others, including one in Worcester, have been unveiled, leading to the possible loss of 550 jobs.

Royal Mail said that following months of consultation with the Communication Workers Union and Unite, it was pressing ahead with proposals for "rationalising and investing" in its mail centres in the Midlands.

"These formal proposals are part of one of the most important change management programmes ever undertaken in the UK," the company said in a statement.

"If following further consultation, the formal proposals proceed, mail processing will move from the Derby, Leicester and Worcester mail centres. Derby and Worcester would remain open as delivery offices and the site at Leicester sold."




The number of people employed by Royal Mail in the Midlands will fall by around 550 from 17,500 currently if the plans go ahead.

Royal Mail said it had a well-developed programme to help staff adjust to these changes and expected that everyone who wanted to remain in the business would be able to do so.

Paul Jobling, regional operations director for Royal Mail in the Midlands, said: "Royal Mail's modernisation programme, which is vital to ensuring a successful future for the letters and parcels business, depends on having the right number of people in our business as well as deploying the right technology and equipment."

Royal Mail said the number of items posted each year in the Midlands had fallen by more than 400 million since 2006.

"With the number expected to fall by a further 500 million items by 2015, the modernisation programme, and the formal proposals on which Royal Mail are consulting, have been created with a view to ensuring the successful future of the business," said the company.

Twelve mail centres have closed in the past four years across the UK.