Details of the 30,000 job losses were revealed in a study by consultancy LECG for Postcomm. The analysis says that the Royal Mail is 'forecasting operational redundancy costs'. According to the report at least 30,000 job losses, from a 165,000-strong workforce, are planned. The reason given is that the Royal Mail will lose its 350-year-old monopoly from the start of 2006 when any licensed company will be able to deliver to business or domestic customers. The estimated job losses came in a report for Postcomm carried out by consultancy LECG which predicted that the jobs will go over the next five years, 'largely through natural attrition, avoiding redundancies and the potential for industrial action'. The financial situation in the company is good with record profits of £537 million, up from £220 million for the previous 12 months. In the past years it has successfully turned itself around, already reducing its workforce from 218,000 in 2001 to today's 165,000.