HUNDREDS of postal workers based in Sedgley Park could lose their jobs after delivery firm Whistl suspended services.

The Dutch-owned company – formerly known as TNT Post – has been delivering a postal service in the M and L postcode areas for several years.

Workers at the Whistl depot in Mountheath Trading Estate in Sedgley Park, which manages deliveries across north Manchester, were sent home today after the service was suspended.

Whistl, which has a main delivery depot in Warrington and six smaller hubs across Greater Manchester, said 2,000 staff in Manchester, Liverpool and London are being consulted on redundancy.

The company announced it is reviewing the viability of rolling out its delivery service after private equity backer LDC pulled out of funding to help expand the business last month.

Suspended services in the M postcode area include parts of Prestwich, Whitefield, Sedgley Park, Simister, Radcliffe and Stoneclough.

But a spokesman for Whistl said the door to door – or end to end (E2E) – deliveries which had been suspended would revert back to Royal Mail, so customers would not be affected.

A company statement said: “Following the announcement from LDC that it would not proceed with the proposed investment to fund further rollout of E2E we have now commenced an extensive review of the viability and potential for the rollout of an E2E postal delivery service in the UK.

“To stem the losses from the operations we have taken the difficult decision to suspend the current E2E service during the review process and all mail will now be delivered through our long-standing downstream access service until we have concluded the review.

“As part of this extensive review, we will begin consultations with the relevant employees who are affected by the suspension of the E2E service, and with their union representatives, with a view to identifying and exploring viable proposals to secure the continuation of this service.”

In a letter to staff, Whistl chief executive Nick Wells said the decision to suspend deliveries had been taken to stem losses.

The letter adds: “As a result of this I regret to inform you that your position is 'at risk' of redundancy. I state 'at risk' because no final decisions will be made until full consultation has taken place.”

Mr Wells said the company intended to carry out a “full and effective” consultation, with workers represented by their union, Community.

Staff were told that Whistl was looking at options to secure its longer-term financial viability.

Workers will be paid their normal rate for the rest of the week but will not be paid while the consultation is held.

According to Whistl’s website, the company processes more than 26 per cent of all the UK’s mail. It changed its name after the split of the TNT Group in 2011.