just saw this on urban75

mail massacre!
30,000 consignia jobs to go, 12,000 tomorrow in parcelforce, 3,000 urban post offices to go. Looks like Tony's going to do to the posties what thatcher did to the mining communities.

article earlier today, bbc 10 o clock news says 30,000 jobs...


Consignia 'to cut 11,000 jobs'


Consignia has been losing £1.5m a day

Consignia is reportedly set to announce thousands of job losses today as part of a massive shake-up to boost flagging profits.
Consignia, formerly known as the Post Office, will cut 11,000 jobs in a bid to trim costs and compete with rivals, newspapers suggest.

Consignia acting chairman Allan Leighton last month promised to come up with "radical solutions" to the company's problems, saying "everything is under review".

Mr Leighton will be named as Consignia's permanent chairman in the next few days, the Observer reported.

More pain to come?

Consignia, which is losing £1.5m a day on operating the Royal Mail, Parcel Force and the Post Office network, is expected to warn that cost cuts are far from over and more job losses could follow.

Most of the job cuts will come at Parcel Force, which is losing £15m a month and has not made a profit for a decade.

Around half of Parcel Force's 12,000 workers will lose their jobs in the shake-up, which will result in several depot closures, the Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph believe.

Other jobs are expected to go in Post Office administration and central management, while cuts are anticipated at a later date in Royal Mail.

Severance pay

Consignia will offer a voluntary redundancy package worth £400m, according to the Sunday Times.

Consignia says it hopes to save £1.2bn a year from the cuts, which aim to streamline the company as the market for postal deliveries is opened up to competition in a three-stage process starting this year.

Consignia's profits have suffered from increasing use of email, a one penny loss on every first class letter delivered in Britain and major losses at Parcel Force's international division.