Royal Mail chief expected to step down within weeks

Royal Mail boss Simon Thompson is expected to step down within weeks, after a turbulent two-year stint at the helm.

The chief executive has been accused by unions of inflaming the bitter industrial dispute, and his credibility was put in question after a Commons select committee appearance.

According to Sky News, his exit could be announced as early as this week, with some members of the board of International Distributions Services (IDS), the parent of Royal Mail, having concluded that new leadership is needed.

Related: Royal Mail CEO accused of ‘incompetence or cluelessness’ by MPs

Other sources cited by Sky claimed Thompson had become increasingly disillusioned about the job in recent weeks.

A spokesperson for Royal Mail and IDS said they did not comment on rumour or speculation.

Thompson, who first joined IDS in 2017 as a non-executive, took over as chief executive at Royal Mail and tried to push through large-scale changes to working conditions and cost-cutting measures, but was met with fierce resistance and strikes.

A potential end to the long industrial dispute was reached last month in a provisional agreement with the Communication Workers Union, which has called strikes on 18 days in the past year. Members are voting on a three-year pay deal worth 10% that would also bring in Sunday working, but which the CWU said had headed off the “Uberisation” of Royal Mail jobs.

The union had accused the company’s management of “a complete lack of integrity” after changes to work practices that had not been agreed were imposed at offices across the country.

Thompson was accused of “incompetence or cluelessness” by MPs on the business committee after appearing before them in January and being recalled over questions about his evidence. They called on the regulator, Ofcom, to investigate whether the company had broken legal service requirements.

Thompson has also had to deal with a ransomware attack linked to Russian hackers that stopped international mail deliveries from the UK to other countries.