The U.S. Postal Service is slashing its administrative ranks by 15 percent and cutting 1,400 mail processing supervisors and management positions at 400 facilities across the country, the economically imperiled organization announced today.
In addition, the Postal Service is closing six of its 80 district offices, a move that will eliminate another 500 positions. USPS is also offering early retirement opportunity to 150,000 postal employees nationwide.
The actions are expected to save the Postal Service more than $100 million a year.
Affected employees will have four months to find work elsewhere in the Postal Service, at an equal or lower pay grade, USPS spokeswoman Sue Brennan said. The employees will be offered “saved grade” for two years followed by indefinite “saved salary,” meaning they won’t be given a pay cut, but also will not receive pay increases.
Brennan said there are a number of vacancies nationally that affected employees can fill. Those employees also have early retirement options, she said.
The Postal Service has been struggling to stay afloat in recent years due to declining mail volumes and growing competition. First class, single piece mail volume has declined to levels not seen since 1964. Conditions have been made worse by the national financial crisis.Â
Previous cost cutting actions taken over the last year were simply not enough to make up for the shortfall. In the last year, USPS has:
- Cut 50 million work hours.
- Halted construction on new facilities.
- Adjusted letter carrier routes.Â
- Froze salaries for executives.
- Instituted a hiring freeze.
- Sold underused facilities.
- Cut operating hours at some facilities.
- Consolidated mail processing centers.
In today’s news release, the Postal Service said the “bold actions” were taken because there are “no signs of economic recovery in sight.”
The National Association of Postal Supervisors, which represents the affected employees has this document breaking down the job losses. I was told that none of the union’s officers were available for comment today.
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Instead of laying off the younger people who need these jobs which will require paying unemployment for 32 weeks and possibly food stamps, in this economy it would be wiser to pay 6 months severance pay to those who are eligible or close to eligible and let them retire. Let the younger people who are earning less money maintain their jobs. And offer CSRS or FERS, VER without penalty. Out with the old/in with the new!
Froze salaries for executives? Hmm…. does that include bonuses? I don’t think so. Anyone reporting the net amount of bonuses given to the executives? I don’t think so. That might be another highlight item for CNN.
Any mention of maybe not continuing to buy the executives mansions from them so that they can move – just because they want to? (at a loss to the Postal Service) I didn’t hear that.
Any adjustments to Mr. Potters salary & perks recently reported on by CNN? Nope, didn’t hear that, either.
If a “regular” (read Union) Postal emolyee had sullied the Postal service in the way that the aforementined items had done, they would be fired immediately.
But hey… Congress wanted it run more like a business – it seems to be…………..
If they offer the incentive package they offered my spouse for having such a great record over the 20++ something years that he has been with USPS there or better yet they would not have purchased a house from him to be relocated for 1.2 million dollars. We live in SC and he is a US PostMaster and you should see the sorry servance packaged they offered him. It was a slap in the face and he did what he should have done sent it back to them and laugh. He was nicer to them than I would have been.
He has been working for ther past 3.5 years for at least 16-18 hours days and they give him that offered him that sorry servance package and then wanted to give him nothing for his 2 years of sick leave. Those Postal Upper Management folks are crazy and that is where they should start cleaning house in their offices “FIRST”!
Perhaps Post Office should not conduct a layoff and instead return high bonus payouts to help keep employees employed and operational 6 days a week.
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Don’t have to layoff, but instead just have the mail be delivered on a five (5) days work week. The mail volune on Monday will be heavy for the carrier.
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Why can the younger crowd when there are younger people fresh out of high school or collage and they need the work? Keep the younger people and let go of the ones that are closer to retirement rather then spoiling it for the younger crowd that cant get jobs cause of either no experience or haven’t worked much cause of a lack of work. Why keep on less workers and make them do 2 times the amount they have been doing and not allowing them to be able to finish. This is what the younger crowd needs, jobs. Allow the younger crowd to work. Stop taking money from them since they need it and have to pay bills and live away from their parents. We wouldn’t want others living at home all their life cause they can’t get a job or don’t make enough to even get a place of their own . Give the younger crowd a chance.