Whistl sheds 2,000 staff after suspending "end-to-end" deliveries

Whistl, a wholly owned subsidiary of PostNL, have sent 2,000 staff home from their west London, Manchester and Liverpool depots, after difficult postal market conditions pushed the company to halt its 'end-to-end' (E2E) delivery service.

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Lloyds' private equity arm LDC, withdrew from investment talks centered around the expansion of Whistl's 'final mile' delivery service last week. This, combined with falling volumes of letters and the growth in internet shopping, prompted Whistl to commence an "extensive review" of its feasibility.

“To stem the losses from the operations, we have taken the difficult decision to suspend the current E2E service during the review process," a spokesperson said.

"We will begin consultations with the relevant employees who are affected, and with their union representatives, with a view to identifying and exploring viable proposals to secure the continuation of this service," they added.

Elsewhere in the postal market, Royal Mail is also expected to cut several thousand jobs, via redundancies where possible, as part of a drastic business overhaul.