Royal Mail's boss has apologised for the business's performance and vowed its "biggest transformation" will be rolled out to most places before Christmas. Alistair Cochrane said there were encouraging signs in figures showing 9% and 2% improvement rates for First Class and Second Class letter deliveries respectively.
He added: "I want to acknowledge Royal Mail’s performance has not been good enough and to say sorry. We want to do better and we are absolutely determined to do so."
Delivery figures fall below targets
Eighty-five percent of First Class letters arrived at their destinations in a day during the first quarter of the year. This falls below the 90% target set by communications watchdog, Ofcom.
Of Second Class letters, 91% were delivered within three days, below Ofcom's 95% target, according to This Is Money.
CEO echoes owner's apology
The CEO's apology echoes that of Royal Mail owner Daniel Křetínský, who told MPs in March that he was "deeply sorry" for any letters that arrive late. Royal Mail was bought by the Czech billionaire's EP Group in April 2025. He vowed at the time to put customers and employees "at the heart of everything".
Mr Cochrane said changes to work arrangements are being made to reduce delays and restore the business's performance. He said: "It’s the biggest transformation in generations.
"We’re seeing some encouraging signs this is beginning to work. We’ve implemented changes in 70% of sites and are poised to roll out to most others before Christmas."
Universal Service Obligation and Christmas recruitment
Royal Mail's boss did not comment on whether letter deliveries would meet Ofcom's targets by Christmas, but said he takes the Universal Service Obligation "extremely seriously". The USO obliges Royal Mail by law to deliver letters and parcels within set time limits.
The business announced last month that it would recruit 22,000 temporary workers ahead of the festive season. Temporary positions will be in parcel hubs and mail centres across the UK, with a variety of shifts available.
There are 12,500 mail sorting roles available in England, 1,243 in Scotland, 485 in Northern Ireland and 355 in Wales. An additional 7,500 hire vans will also be added to Royal Mail's fleet of 6,000 vehicles to support this year’s seasonal campaign.
Royal Mail’s chief operating officer, Jamie Stephenson, said: "Christmas is the busiest and most important time of the year for our customers, and we’re working hard across every part of our operation to deliver for them.
"While many people start thinking about Christmas as the festive season approaches, we’ve been planning for it since January. From recruiting thousands of seasonal colleagues to strengthening capacity across our network, we’re making significant investments to help ensure every card, gift and parcel arrives in time for Christmas."
