Royal Mail CEO steps down after delivery failures

The boss of Royal Mail is to step down, its parent group confirmed Friday, after lawmakers criticised the former state-monopoly's performance, which has been hit by mass strikes.

Chief executive Simon Thompson "informed the board of his intention to step down" after concluding it was "the right time to move forward under new leadership", parent group International Distributions Services (IDS) said in a statement.

The news follows a flurry of media speculation over his impending departure from the long-troubled postal operator.

Thompson, who has been Royal Mail CEO since the start of 2021, will remain at the business until the end of October.

IDS added that it was in "advanced stages" of appointing a replacement.

Friday's news comes after UK lawmakers in March concluded that Royal Mail has "systemically failed" to meet its postal-delivery requirement.

The company is obliged to deliver letters six days a week across Britain in a one-price-goes-anywhere postal service.

The company has been blighted by recent industrial action with thousands of workers protesting over wages failing to keep pace with soaring inflation.

Set up more than 500 years ago, Royal Mail has experienced much turbulence since its privatisation in 2013.

It was boosted during the pandemic lockdowns by a high volume of parcel orders but this has since fallen sharply.

© Agence France-Presse