US Postal Service considers cutting 120,000 jobs
Due to its financial difficulties, the U.S. Postal Service may cut up to 120,000 jobs. The government-owned enterprise is facing its second consecutive year of losses in the billions, according to its 2010 annual report.
The authority also wants to remove its employees from the pension and healthcare contracts for state employees and set up its own system instead. However, all measures require the approval of Congress, and there is also the threat of conflict with the unions. The US Postal Service has already cut 110,000 jobs over the past four years and is currently in the process of cutting a further 7,500 administrative jobs. According to the annual report, the agency had 583,908 employees.
The US Postal Service is struggling with the decline in the mail business due to the Internet and the decline in advertising due to the recession in the USA. In order to stem the losses, it is considering closing 3,653 post offices, which is around a tenth of all post offices. Rural post offices would be particularly affected. (SDA)
