The vibes at Royal Mail are officially off. According to the Communication Workers Union (CWU), about 400 postal workers are quitting the company every single week. This churn has spiked since the rollout of DM26, a new delivery system that’s supposed to boost efficiency but is lowkey ruining the workflow for thousands of employees. Before DM26, the company was losing roughly 330 workers a week from its 83,000-strong staff. The union says the system, which reorders routes and groups workers into trios, is a disaster in hundreds of offices. ## The Reality of the Grind If you're wondering why your mail feels slow, staff say it’s because the system prioritizes parcels while letters get left behind for weeks. Some workers report having to walk up to 25,000 steps a day—an increase of up to 33% since the switch. One former postie, Bryn Dymott, who quit in July, called the setup “shambolic” and impossible to manage. The CWU is now telling members to hit pause on further DM26 implementation until the company stops acting like the ship isn't sinking. Martin Walsh from the CWU put it bluntly: "If a boat is already taking on water, adding more passengers is unlikely to solve the problem." ## What’s Next for Your Packages Royal Mail maintains that the rollout is 90% complete and claims they are now hitting 95% of addresses daily—an improvement from 88%. They’re also planning to hire 22,000 seasonal workers to handle the Christmas rush. Meanwhile, regulators and MPs are watching closely. Ofcom has already slapped the company with over £37 million in fines over the last three years for missing targets, and Labour MP Dave Robertson says it's time to "think outside the box" for a long-term fix. ## Why it matters Whether you're sending holiday gifts or important documents, the math isn't mathing at Royal Mail. With staff quitting at record speeds and a union-management showdown looming, this systemic strain could lead to major delivery delays, making your holiday logistics a total L.