Royal Mail is losing approximately 400 staff members each week following the rollout of Delivery Model 26, prompting union warnings that the business faces collapse even as management defends the modernization plan.
Royal Mail is losing roughly 400 postmen and women each week following the introduction of a new delivery system earlier this year. The Communication Workers Union states that this voluntary exodus has accelerated from a prior baseline of about 330 departures per week among an 83,000-strong workforce. The union links the rising attrition rate directly to the operational pressures created by the new framework and mounting workloads. The delivery initiative, designated as DM26, was deployed to reorganize routes and modernize network performance. Under the system, second-class post is delivered every other weekday, while first-class letters and parcels are intended for daily delivery through teams of three workers.
Union representatives argue the model relies on unsustainable expectations.
Union Fights Delivery Model 26 Strain
The system is currently operating in approximately 1,000 of Royal Mail’s 1,200 delivery offices across the United Kingdom. Workers report that parcel volumes routinely take precedence over sorting and delivering letters, leading to persistent mail backlogs. Physical demands on postal staff have also increased under the restructured walking patterns. Tracking data from select workers indicates that daily step counts have jumped by 25 to 33 percent, often exceeding 25,000 steps per shift. Union leadership has likened the staffing model to a boat that is already taking on water
as employees shoulder heavier burdens across expanded geographic routes.
“I didn’t take any first class mail out on my last shift because I was on a road that’s been behind for weeks,” a worker in the West Midlands told me. “But I’m sure a manager would have ticked a box to say all first class mail went out.”
worker in the West Midlands
Union Demands Stakeholder Summit
Citing deteriorating conditions in at least 170 delivery units, the Communication Workers Union formally paused the rollout of Delivery Model 26 on October 9, 2026. The union insists that the system is failing in hundreds of offices and has called for an urgent summit with the Government and company management to avert an operational collapse. Union leaders argue that previous improvement commitments and regulatory oversight have failed to resolve fundamental workplace issues.
We are calling for a summit between stakeholders and the Government to address the ticking timebomb that is Royal Mail. Royal Mail has been in structural decline for well over a decade, and the continuous failure to deliver quality of service is killing the brand, demoralising the workforce, and letting down the communities that postal workers are proud to serve.
Dave Ward, CWU general secretary, via Independent
Royal Mail Cuts Management Jobs
On October 7, 2026, Royal Mail announced plans to eliminate 2,500 management and support roles by the end of 2027. This downsizing follows the 2025 acquisition of the company’s parent organization by Daniel Křetínský’s EP Group in a £3.6 billion transaction. Alistair Cochrane, Royal Mail CEO, stated that the head-office reductions are necessary to eliminate administrative duplication and free up capital for customer service investments. Traditional letter volumes have dropped by more than 70 percent from their historical peak, prompting a permanent pivot toward parcel operations.
Company Defends Modernization Plan
Royal Mail maintains that the delivery system is operating effectively and remains 90 percent complete across its local offices. Company representatives report that daily delivery coverage reaches 95 percent of addresses nationwide, an improvement from 88 percent prior to the reform implementation. To manage the upcoming holiday surge, the firm is recruiting 22,000 temporary workers to assist with sorting and transporting mail. Postal Services Minister Kate Dearden acknowledged the company’s five-year improvement plan—which includes a £500 million commitment to quality of service—while emphasizing that tangible service enhancements remain necessary as regulatory scrutiny from Ofcom continues alongside past penalties totaling over £37 million.