Swingeing cuts set to slow US 'snail mail' further
Source: Agencies |
December 7, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ALREADY mocked by some as "snail mail," first-class US mail will slow even more by next spring under plans by the cash-strapped US Postal Service to cut around 28,000 jobs.
More than half of the US mail processing centers would be eliminated as the post office struggles to respond to a shift to online communication and bill payments.
The cuts are part of US$3 billion in reductions aimed at helping the agency avert bankruptcy next year. They would virtually eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day, a change in first-class delivery standards that have been in place since 1971.
The cuts would close 252 of America's 461 mail processing centers beginning next spring.
Many Americans are upset. "The post office is a mainstay of America, and the fact that these services will no longer be available is absolutely crazy," said Carol Braxton of Naperville, Illinois, as she waited in line at a mail sorting center on Monday.
At a news briefing in Washington, postal vice president David Williams said the post office needs to move quickly to cut costs as it seeks to stem five years of red ink amid steadily declining mail volume. After hitting 98 billion in 2006, first-class mail volume is now at less than 78 billion. It is projected to drop by roughly half by 2020.
The agency already has announced a 1-cent increase in first-class mail to 45 cents from January 22.
Williams said in the vast majority of cases first-class mail will see delays. The changes could slow everything from check payments to DVDs by mail and add costs to mail-order prescription drugs.
The Postal Service, an independent agency of government, faces imminent default on a US$5.5 billion annual payment to the Treasury for retiree health benefits and expects to have a record loss of $14.1 billion next year.
More than half of the US mail processing centers would be eliminated as the post office struggles to respond to a shift to online communication and bill payments.
The cuts are part of US$3 billion in reductions aimed at helping the agency avert bankruptcy next year. They would virtually eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day, a change in first-class delivery standards that have been in place since 1971.
The cuts would close 252 of America's 461 mail processing centers beginning next spring.
Many Americans are upset. "The post office is a mainstay of America, and the fact that these services will no longer be available is absolutely crazy," said Carol Braxton of Naperville, Illinois, as she waited in line at a mail sorting center on Monday.
At a news briefing in Washington, postal vice president David Williams said the post office needs to move quickly to cut costs as it seeks to stem five years of red ink amid steadily declining mail volume. After hitting 98 billion in 2006, first-class mail volume is now at less than 78 billion. It is projected to drop by roughly half by 2020.
The agency already has announced a 1-cent increase in first-class mail to 45 cents from January 22.
Williams said in the vast majority of cases first-class mail will see delays. The changes could slow everything from check payments to DVDs by mail and add costs to mail-order prescription drugs.
The Postal Service, an independent agency of government, faces imminent default on a US$5.5 billion annual payment to the Treasury for retiree health benefits and expects to have a record loss of $14.1 billion next year.
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