14 DAY TRIAL // The US Postal Service will stop delivering first-class mail on Saturdays, reports say. The state-run organization has decided to increase their revenues by chucking weekend deliveries starting August 1.
According to CBS News, the USPS registered a $16 billion (€11.8 billion) budget deficit last year alone. The past six years have left a whopping $41 billion (€30 billion) budget gap. This is motivated by the market becoming more competitive, with private shippers snapping up a large portion of mailing orders.
First-class mail is the only one getting the weekend boot. Postal Service reps have announced that they intend to continue Saturday distribution of packages and mail-order medicine.
The delivery schedule for priority and express mail, for which the company charges an extra cost, will not be affected by this change. The USPS hopes to save approximately $2 billion (€1.47 billion) a year by cutting the unprofitable Saturday service.
“It's a proper business decision and (in the) long run, good for the Postal Service and good for Americans,” says Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn.
The organization currently holds 26,000 offices across the US and has already started slashing jobs. The number of post office employees has been lowered by 35 percent.
The USPS is legally obligated to have any infrastructure or service change approved by Congress. While Congress has not OKed their initiative as of yet, President Obama lends his support.
The measure “won't come close to solving the postal service's problem. It's got to look at more fundamental changes in its infrastructure, its compensation costs, its retirement obligations, and also what it does and who does its business,” argues former government watchdog David Walker.
“Look, they're in survival mode. You're not going to have any post office. I mean, here's the alternative: They're losing $25 million dollars a day. A day. They have to do something,” responds Coburn.