Postal Service May Slash 35,000 Jobs

Posted on Sep 15, 2011

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The U.S. Postal Service said Thursday that it is thinking about closing more than half of its mail-processing centers, which would eliminate more than 35,000 jobs, in order to turn a profit.

The plan under consideration would close 252 of the 487 mail-processing centers and do away with one-day delivery for first-class mail in an effort to turn around a $9 billion loss from last year.

The news of the Postal Service’s latest ideas to close the financial gap comes after a proposal to end Saturday delivery service did not go over well with Congress. —BF

Dow Jones in The Wall Street Journal:

The Postal Service, which is the country’s largest employer after the military and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), said it intends to eliminate 35,000 mail-processing jobs, out of a total 151,000 such positions. It said it would work with the union and hopes to avoid layoffs, relying instead of retirements. The postal service currently has 559,000 employees.

The mail service also said that the restructuring would mean fewer mail trucks and half as much mail-processing equipment.

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