Royal Mint lets agency staff go following decline in global demand for coinage

THE Royal Mint has confirmed that it is releasing many of its agency staff following a decline in demand for their services.

The Llantrisant-based site, which employes more than 800 people, has chosen to let go of agency workers in the Circulating Coin division and review shift patterns for employees in that area. But it has reassured workers that it will not be making any redundancies.

In recent years the Royal Mint says the requirement for circulating coins has “declined globally” and the market to supply them has become increasingly competitive.

Currently the world’s leading mint exporter supplies around five billion coins and blanks to over 40 countries each year.

A Mint spokeswoman said: “For over 1,100 years, the Royal Mint’s core business has been the production of circulating coinage for the UK and countries across the world... In recent years the requirement for circulating coins has declined globally and the market to supply them has become increasingly competitive...

“As a responsible business, the organisation controls costs and manages fluctuations in demand by engaging agency staff to fulfil large scale orders.

“The Royal Mint is grateful for the skills, hard work and dedication shown by all staff – however, it now needs to match the decline in production activities.”