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U.S. Postal Service may slow first class delivery to cut its losses and more business news

Letter carrier Diosdado Gabnat moves boxes of mail into his truck to begin delivery at a post office in Seattle. Americans for generations have come to depend on door-to-door mail delivery. It's about as American as apple pie. But with the Postal Service facing billions of dollars in annual losses, the long-cherished delivery service could be virtually phased-out by 2022 under a proposal a House panel was considering Wednesday. Curbside delivery, which includes deliveries to mailboxes at the end of driveways, and cluster box delivery would replace letter carriers slipping mail into front-door boxes. Letter carrier Diosdado Gabnat moves boxes of mail into his truck to begin delivery at a post office in Seattle. Americans for generations have come to depend on door-to-door mail delivery. It's about as American as apple pie. But with the Postal Service facing billions of dollars in annual losses, the long-cherished delivery service could be virtually phased-out by 2022 under a proposal a House panel was considering Wednesday. Curbside delivery, which includes deliveries to mailboxes at the end of driveways, and cluster box delivery would replace letter carriers slipping mail into front-door boxes.

By Staff and wire reports March 23, 2021 3 min read

U.S. Postal Service changes planned to cut losses

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Tuesday announced plans to slow mail delivery standards and cut hours at some post offices as part of a 10-year strategy to stabilize the struggling agency.

Details of the long-awaited plan come at a time of intense scrutiny on the U.S. Postal Service over persistent delivery delays under Dejoy, a major GOP donor who took over the agency last summer. The plan also includes a proposal to consolidate underused post offices, hinted at a potential postage rate increase and detailed investments in new delivery vehicles, among other things.

Facing an expected $160 billion in losses over the next decade, DeJoy and postal executives stressed the need to cut costs and modernize the agency’s operations as its workload increasingly shifts from handling letters to hauling more and more packages.

“This is about the long-term viability of the organization under the two missions that we have that are legislated, that is deliver to every house six days a week and be self-sustaining,” DeJoy said.