Whistl suspends E2E delivery service
Whistl has announced that it has suspended its end-to-end (E2E) delivery service while it reviews the “viability and potential” of continuing its roll-out. As previously reported by PostandParcel, Whistl’s plans took a hit when its investment partner decided to back away from the venture at the end of last month.
In a statement issued this morning, Whistl commented: “Following the announcement from Lloyds Development Capital (the private equity arm of Lloyds Bank) that it would not proceed with the proposed investment to fund further rollout of E2E (End to End the postal delivery part of the service) we have now commenced an extensive review of the viability and potential for the rollout of an e2e postal delivery service in the UK.
“To stem the losses from the operations we have taken the difficult decision to suspend the current E2E service during the review process and all mail will now be delivered through our long-standing downstream access service until we have concluded the review.
“As part of this extensive review, we will begin consultations with the relevant employees who are affected by the suspension of the E2E service, and with their union representatives, with a view to identifying and exploring viable proposals to secure the continuation of this service.”
When the LDC decision was announced on 30 April, Whistl’s parent company, PostNL said: “We will assess alternative scenarios for Whistl’s E2E operations and remain committed to further developing Whistl’s successful activities in the UK. In the meantime, the roll-out of E2E continues to be on hold.”
So, two weeks ago the continuing “roll-out” was “on hold”, and now the service is “suspended”.
The suspension of the service could put around 2,000 jobs at risk.
UPDATE: Union responds to Whistl End-to-End suspension
Community, the recognised trade union at Whistl, sent a statement to Post&Parcel this morning saying that its members are “extremely worried for their futures”.
Les Bayliss, National Officer at Community, commented: “Community has a meeting of our senior reps tomorrow where we will begin to develop our response to the company’s consultation. We will be doing all we can to identify a viable way forward for the business that safeguards our members’ jobs.
“We should be clear that this is a suspension of the business not a termination of it, so we will be looking for the company to work with us to identify sustainable options to continue operations as soon as practically possible.
“Meetings will be taking place through the week with our local reps in the end-to-end areas of the business as we seek to listen to members concerns and begin to identify alternatives.”
“We understand the consultation was triggered by the decision of LDC not to fund a further rollout of the end-to-end business but we’re also aware of the challenges faced by the business because of the continuing costs dictated by Royal Mail, which affect the sector as a whole.”
