The postal service, which is in talks with the Communications Workers Union (CWU) to try to avert strikes in the run-up to Christmas, reported an adjusted operating loss of £219m in the six months to 25 September. The embattled company, which last month warned it may have to cut up to 10,000 roles by next August, reported profits of £235m in the same period last year. Royal Mail reported a 10.5% fall in year-on-year revenue to £3.6bn, although this was flat compared to pre-pandemic levels. “Due to management action, the impact of the strike has been limited,” parent company International Distributions Services said Thursday. “Talks with the CWU are ongoing, although we are already moving forward with the changes required. Talks will stop if further industrial action takes place.” Royal Mail expects to make a loss of £350m to £450m in the current financial year to the end of March, including the financial impact of strikes of up to 12 days that have taken place or been notified by the CWU. “We would prefer to reach an agreement with the CWU, but in any case we are moving forward with changes to transform our business,” said Simon Thompson, chief executive of Royal Mail. “We have always been clear that we need change to survive. We have started to turn the business around and we will do whatever it takes.” The CWU, which represents more than 115,000 postal workers at Royal Mail, has said workers will next strike on November 24 and 25, the bargain shopping day known as Black Friday, as well as November 30 and December 1. However, talks scheduled to conclude earlier this week have now been extended in the hope of securing a deal for postal workers. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “Talks, which were scheduled to conclude on November 15, continue to allow more time to reach a solution,” a Royal Mail spokesman said. “But time is limited due to the notified strikes starting on November 24.” Royal Mail also said it had started talks with the government about an early move to deliver letters only five days a week – ending Saturday deliveries – to cut costs as volumes fall and better focus on delivering parcels .
