Breaking: Postal Service cuts more than 1,400 jobs
March 20th, 2009 | Postal Service Workplace | Posted by Elise Castelli
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.
Tags: Postal Service, reduction in force
Comments
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Steve W Pullen Says:
March 20th, 2009 at 6:16 pmInstead 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!
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PhiCrappaZappa Says:
March 22nd, 2009 at 7:02 pmFroze 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………….. -
jerman0050 Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 11:36 amIf 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”! -
chrissy Says:
March 31st, 2009 at 8:47 amPerhaps 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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Fedline » Latest postal casualty: wilderness airmail Says:
April 6th, 2009 at 4:11 pm[...] to run out of money by year’s end, it’s had to make some tough calls. It’s cutting management and supervisory positions, encouraging employees to retire early and closing administrative [...]
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june Says:
April 9th, 2009 at 12:20 pmDon’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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