The US Postal Service (USPS) plans to make a series of changes that will help the company reduce its losses and lower its costs. If implemented, the changes could potentially save USPS $3 billion annually.
USPS made several moves in recent years in an attempt to get in better financial shape after it amassed $87 billion in losses between 2007 and 2020. This included raising the prices of its services and hiking the prices of Forever Stamps on a number of occasions.
The new strategy will now see USPS revamping its delivery logistics including adjusting of pick-up and drop-off times. As a result, the rural areas and mail that needs to travel for longer will receive slower delivery times.
USPS plans to seek opinions on the new changes at a conference organized next month and stated the new changes will not come into effect until 2025.
“As we integrate our transportation, processing, and delivery network to logically sequence the flow of mail and packages by deploying improved operating practices in our redesigned facilities network, we expect to improve service reliability, reduce cost, and grow our business,” Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a statement.
While USPS claims large savings from the proposed changes, the decision received a lot of criticism from advocacy groups. The overwhelming opinion is that the changes would result in a worse service and cause USPS to lose more customers.