Tag: Europe

Unions fear UK Royal Mail could loose 40,000 jobs to cut costs

Posted by | Jan 30, 2006 | |

Royal Mail is to begin a fresh round of cost-cutting that unions fear may trigger 40,000 job losses and a huge switch from full-time to part-time work, citing a Royal Mail spokesman, The Times reported. The plans could spark industrial unrest with the Communication Workers Union (CWU), especially because the two sides have just begun pay talks in which the union is seeking a 25 pct rise, the newspaper said. It wants to bring postal pay in line with the national average. A spokesman for Royal Mail told The Times that it was looking at job cuts and more use of part-time staff, but would not comment on the size of the plans. He said that automation would cut the need for labour and that competition meant that Royal Mail’s workload would be less. ‘It is too soon to speculate on the size of Royal Mail, but it is no secret that we intend to be more efficient and flexible than our competitors,’ he told The Times.

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UPS completes expansion of European air hub

Posted by | Jan 30, 2006 | |

After two and half years of construction, UPS has opened a greatly expanded, more automated package sorting hub in Europe that will accommodate the shipping needs of its growing customer base for years to come. The expanded facility, located at the Cologne/Bonn Airport, almost doubles the original hub’s sorting capacity to 110,000 packages per hour, or more than 30 packages per second. Much of that increase in speed has been accomplished through the deployment of new automation technology, making the hub the most advanced as well as the largest facility of its type in Europe. “UPS continues to experience strong growth in Europe and this facility will ensure we are able to provide our customers with reliable, global distribution solutions,” said Wolfgang Flick, president, UPS Europe. “The investment is part of a long-term strategy to help customers compete and succeed in the key trading lanes within Europe and linking Europe to North America and Asia.”

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TNT Express Netherlands awarded ISO14001 accreditation

Posted by | Jan 30, 2006 | |

TNT Express today announced that its Netherlands operations has been awarded the ISO14001 accreditation for its efforts to reduce environmental damage, by minimising harmful CO2 emissions and moderating fuel consumption and wastage. The standard – which has been obtained by a number of TNT locations – was achieved by implementing a management system which focuses on the environmental aspects of the company’s operations. The upgrading of TNT’s Euro III compliant vehicles to a fleet that meets the more stringent Euro IV emission regulations was a key part of the programme. This will be further refined during 2006 when TNT introduces vehicles that comply with the Euro V emission standards, as part of the existing stock is due for replacement.

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UK Royal Mail appeals against compensation ruling

Posted by | Jan 30, 2006 | |

Royal Mail is appealing against a High Court decision that it should pay up to GBP40m in compensation to business customers for missing service targets. Last Thursday, a day before the deadline to appeal, the postal operator decided to continue the legal battle pitting it and regulator Postcomm against postal customers’ representative Postwatch. Postwatch went to the courts last year after differing with Postcomm over the amount of compensation the two organisations believed was due from Royal Mail to its customers for missing its service targets in 2003-2004. The total compensation due was GBP80m, but Postcomm allowed Royal Mail to withhold around GBP40m from customers who had paid invoices late during the year. In December, High Court judge Justice Sullivan upheld Postwatch’s challenge. The judge left the amount that Royal Mail should pay to be decided by negotiation between the two sides. Postwatch’s senior director Andy Frewin said last Friday that customers were unhappy about the appeal because it would mean a further wait for compensation.

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DHL hub move to Leipzig underway

Posted by | Jan 30, 2006 | |

DHL has begun operating aircraft out of Leipzig in eastern Germany, two years before the airport becomes fully operational as its main European hub. Five aircraft have been switched from Berlin to the new facility, with five more due to call at Leipzig later this year to serve eastern Europe. DHL is investing EUR300m in Leipzig, which is expected to handle 2,000 tonnes of freight a day at maximum capacity. From 2008, 60-70 aircraft movements through Leipzig are expected every night. Peter Kruse, CEO of DHL said: “Not all [European] aircraft will need to go to Leipzig; our existing hub in Brussels will still be operational as a smaller gateway serving the Benelux.”

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