USPS proposes changes to save $3 billion annually starting in 2025

The U.S. Postal Service is seeking to save $3 billion annually through changes that reflect its greater reliance on streamlined regional networks, while also keeping local mail delivery times to one to three days and giving customers the ability to track certain delivery schedules more precisely.

Officials said the election post will not be affected.

The proposal, announced Thursday, would adjust mail delivery times but maintain the target of up to five days of delivery for the flagship nationwide program Ground Advantage and up to three days of delivery for local first-class mail.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said the changes coming next year are necessary to “enable us to operate more efficiently and reliably, grow our business and give us a chance for a viable future” after an 80 percent decline in First-Class mail since 1997 and a corresponding increase in packages. All told, the Postal Service has racked up more than $87 billion in losses from 2007 through 2020.

The details were released by the Postal Service ahead of a Sept. 5 meeting at which the proposed changes will be discussed with stakeholders before being submitted to the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Election mail and holiday deliveries would not be affected because the proposed changes would not take effect until next calendar year, officials said. Medicines would also be delivered at their current speed or faster, the proposal said.

The proposal reflects the Postal Service’s move to overhaul its processing and transportation network with an emphasis on regional hubs, something that’s already beginning to happen in Atlanta; Richmond, Virginia; and Portland, Oregon. Changes to better utilize existing ground networks would require the Postal Service to adjust pickup and delivery times between post offices and processing plants, a process that would increase the speed of some mail, officials said.

Postal customers living closer to regional hubs will see the greatest decrease in mail turnaround time. For some rural customers, turnaround time may increase but will still be within existing service standards, an official said.

Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly, who has frequently criticized the changes under DeJoy, was unimpressed with the proposal.

“Any attempt to make service worse while raising prices is a recipe for a death spiral at the Postal Service,” Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, said in a statement. “This is the second time Postmaster General DeJoy has proposed lower service standards. He might as well announce a return to horse-drawn carriages.”

The proposal is in line with the agency’s mandate to be financially self-sufficient while continuing to deliver to every address in the country six days a week. If passed, 75 percent of first-class mail would see no change from current service standards and about two-thirds of mail would be delivered in three or fewer days, the Postal Service said.

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