On Tuesday, October 7, 2025, the usually smooth operations of DPD, one of the UK’s leading parcel delivery companies, hit a significant speed bump. Hundreds of drivers, frustrated by a sudden and substantial cut to their pay for delivering small parcels, launched a three-day protest that has thrown a spotlight on the mounting tensions in the country’s fast-changing logistics sector.
The flashpoint for this action was a 65p reduction in the payment drivers receive for each small parcel delivered. For the majority of DPD’s workforce—self-employed and franchised drivers—this change isn’t just a minor adjustment. According to the BBC, drivers say it could slash their annual earnings by as much as £6,500, or around £25 a day. Simon Robson, a DPD driver of 17 years, told the Sunderland Echo, “Under these new terms we are going to be losing around £500 per month. This is going to have a real impact on people as we all have bills and mortgages to pay.”
It wasn’t just the size of the cut that stung, but the way it was delivered. Many drivers reported being given only a few hours’ notice before the new rates took effect in late September. The news came via a video link attached to an email—a move that left many feeling blindsided and undervalued. “We needed to withdraw our service today to show the company that they need to do something about it—we are feeling massively undervalued,” Robson said. “All I would say to company bosses is please talk to us. We are willing to talk but the company shouldn’t just impose this on us without any discussion.”
The protest itself was organized informally, with drivers banding together through online chat groups. Estimates put the number of participants between 1,300 and 1,500 nationwide. In Washington, Tyne and Wear, around 50 drivers gathered outside the depot from 6am, refusing to deliver parcels in a visible show of discontent. Similar demonstrations were mirrored at depots up and down the country, as reported by the Sunderland Echo.
For DPD, the changes are part of what the company describes as an adjustment to “reflect changes in our parcel traffic profile.” A spokesperson told the BBC, “Driver stops which include only smaller parcels would see a reduction of 65p. Stops which include larger parcels, or high-value or pharmaceutical parcels, would see no change, while heavier deliveries would get an extra 65p.” The company added that it had also introduced new incentive payments “designed to increase earnings all year round.”
DPD insists that, even with the changes, its driver remuneration package “remains among the best in our industry.” The company claims that for owner drivers impacted by the changes, average annualized net earnings are still over £40,000. But for many on the ground, the numbers simply don’t add up. One driver told the BBC, “We just don’t get that many larger parcels to make up for the loss resulting from the rate cut in smaller parcels. And even if we did take on more larger parcels, we would have to work longer and do more stops just to earn the same amount as before the cut.”
Adding to the frustration, drivers also reported the loss of so-called ‘big push’ payments—an extra 50p per parcel for those who work 13 consecutive days during the busy Christmas period. All told, drivers estimate the pay changes amount to a 7 to 10 percent cut, or up to £5,000 a year. For workers already feeling the squeeze from rising living costs, it’s a bitter pill to swallow.
Despite the scale of the protest, DPD was quick to downplay its impact. “We acknowledge that some drivers have raised concerns regarding the new arrangements, and these are being addressed,” a spokesperson said. “However, a small number of drivers at various depots have chosen not to operate today. We do not expect this to have a significant impact on our service.” The company later announced that “an agreement on a way forward has been reached” and that drivers who stopped work on Tuesday would return to their rounds, though it stopped short of confirming whether the pay cut had been deferred or changed.
The standoff at DPD is emblematic of deeper, sector-wide pressures. As e-commerce continues its relentless growth, delivery firms are locked in fierce competition, with squeezed margins and fluctuating consumer demand making it ever harder to balance costs and service quality. The dominance of major online retailers has only intensified these pressures, forcing companies to look for savings wherever they can—often at the expense of those on the frontlines.
Analysts point out that the UK is hardly alone in facing these challenges. Across Europe, logistics firms are being forced to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape. Denmark’s PostNord, for example, recently ended letter deliveries altogether, signaling a broader shift toward parcel-focused logistics as traditional postal services struggle to remain viable.
For many DPD drivers, the dispute is about more than just the bottom line—it’s about respect and recognition. “We hope members of the public understand our reasons as we would rather be doing our usual delivery service today,” Simon Robson said, echoing the sentiments of many of his colleagues. The drivers’ willingness to organize and take collective action, even informally, suggests a growing sense of solidarity in a workforce that has often been fragmented by the rise of self-employment and gig economy contracts.
At the same time, the company’s insistence that its pay package remains competitive, and its claim that new incentive payments will boost earnings, highlights the disconnect between management and those who keep the wheels turning. DPD’s assertion that “our driver remuneration package remains among the best in our industry” may be cold comfort to those facing hundreds of pounds less in their pay packets each month.
As the dust settles on this week’s protest, questions remain about the long-term future of pay and conditions in the UK’s delivery sector. Will companies be able to sustain a workforce under increasing financial strain? Or will further industrial action become the new normal as workers push back against cuts and creeping precarity?
For now, DPD drivers are back on the road, but the underlying issues haven’t gone away. Their protest has shone a light on the pressures facing the delivery industry—and on the determination of those who deliver the nation’s parcels to stand up for their livelihoods, even when the odds seem stacked against them.
