Post Office Seeks Service Cuts to Save Money

The United States Postal Service faces losses of historic proportion, said Postmaster General John Potter in testimony March 25 before a House panel. And those losses could lead to cutting delivery from six days a week to five.

USPS lost $2.8 billion last year. It expects much larger losses in the current fiscal year and perhaps as high as $12 billion in 2010 if nothing is done. Shaving one day a week from the delivery schedule could save as much as $3.5 billion, Potter told the House Oversight post office subcommittee.

Potter also asked Congress for help with pre-payment for retiree health care that could save another $2 billion per year.