- Roles to go as costs are reset
- Savings linked to higher subpostmaster payouts
- Branch shake-up continues
The Post Office is planning to cut around 100 jobs as part of a wider restructuring aimed at freeing up funds for higher payouts to thousands of subpostmasters.
Senior managers were informed of the proposed cuts on January 29, after acting chief executive Neil Brocklehurst circulated a note to staff, seen by the PA news agency. The message said the changes were intended to make the organisation leaner and better positioned for long-term sustainability.
Brocklehurst reportedly said the plan was to create a “more efficient team” that could support postmasters and their communities, while rebasing costs to fund upcoming changes, as quoted in a news report. He added that resetting the business was critical to securing the Post Office’s future.
The job cuts follow an overhaul outlined in November by chairman Nigel Railton, who said subpostmaster pay would be increased by £250 million over five years. At the same time, the Post Office disclosed plans to offload 115 directly-owned branches from its 11,500-branch network, with options including transfers to retail partners or postmasters, or possible closures.
The restructuring is unfolding while a public inquiry continues into the Horizon IT scandal, which involved hundreds of subpostmasters being wrongly convicted after a faulty accounting system showed shortfalls that did not exist. The episode has been widely described as Britain’s biggest miscarriage of justice.
As the inquiry remains ongoing, the Post Office is attempting to stabilise its finances and rebuild trust, with job cuts and network changes forming part of a broader reset.
