Yodel depot closure puts more than 70 jobs at risk

More than 70 jobs are under threat in the Midlands after newly-launched delivery company Yodel announced it was almost halving its depot network.

A total of 45 of Yodel's 102 service centres will be closed including Kidderminster, Oldbury, Stoke-on-Trent and Coventry.

But the cuts will have no impact on the company's 150,000 sq ft sorting centre in Willenhall, which employs 300 people and only opened in August on the site of the former City Link depot beside the Black Country Route.

Yodel is the new name for Home Delivery Network and Parcelpoint, with the depot closure programme is thought to be part of plans to create a single network from the two previous businesses.

Chief executive Jonathan Smith said: "This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We have to make these changes to meet the needs of our customers and create a sustainable and profitable business model."