Post Office Plans Big Job Cuts

Citing severe losses, the US Postal Service is slashing 1,400 jobs and offering early retirement to 150,000 workers, NPR reports. The post office will also shut down six district offices, but says delivery will not be affected. Hobbled by a 5.2 billion drop in mail volume in the first quarter this year, the post office lost $384 million—adding to $2.8 billion in losses last year.

Voluntary retirement will get little support from the postal workers' union, it said, if offers don't include severance pay. The postal service offered retirement without pay parachutes last year and attracted few takers. Over the past year, the post office has already made cuts, trimming 50 million work hours, freezing executive salaries, and halting construction on new offices.
(More post office stories.)