Say Goodbye to Saturday Mail?
If part of your Saturday ritual involves walking to the mailbox after you see your mailman walk by, your weekends could feel slightly different very soon.
The Post Office estimates that cancelling service on Saturdays would almost cover last year’s losses, saving the organization $3.5 billion annually. This estimation comes after the Post Office has already reduced expenses by $6 billion during the 2009 fiscal year.
The Postal Service currently employs more than 712,000 people. If the proposed drop of Saturday service is granted by Congress, more than 40,000 jobs will be eliminated. Postal Service Employees will most likely be disgruntled when they learn of these plans considering that the Post Office has already reduced retiree benefit payments by $4 billion in 2009.
2009 marks the third consecutive year that the United States Postal Service has record a loss. In 2008’s fiscal year, the Post Office lost $2.8 billion. In the prior fiscal year, the agency lost $5 billion.
Part of the reason the United States Postal Service has repeatedly lost money is due to the fact that it is a self-supporting government agency. The Post Office does not receive any money from taxes, and relies entirely upon the sale of stamps, postage and products to earn money.
The United States Postal Service’s reported operating revenue of $68.1 billion is 9% less than last year, while its operating expenses were down 7% from 2008, falling to $71.8 billion.
In 2009, the Postal Office processed 177.1 billion pieces of mail. This is a 12.7% decrease in volume, at total of 25 billion fewer items than the previous year. This drop was twice as large as the last largest mail volume decline in Post Office history.
