The US Postal Service (USPS) plans to cut 10,000 workers and billions of dollars from its budget with the help of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The agreement aims to address “big problems” at the $78 billion-a-year agency. The USPS has listed issues such as mismanagement of retirement assets, Workers’ Compensation Program, and regulatory requirements as areas for improvement.
USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will lead the effort with DOGE’s assistance. Critics fear that the cuts will have negative effects on rural areas, which heavily rely on the USPS for mail delivery, medications, and ballots. Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly has stated that turning over the Postal Service to DOGE would result in it being undermined and privatized.
The agency currently employs 640,000 workers and plans to cut employees through a voluntary early retirement program within the next 30 days. The USPS had previously announced plans to cut operating costs by $3.5 billion annually.
President Donald Trump has previously suggested that the USPS be privatized, but the National Association of Letter Carriers opposes this move. The organization’s president, Brian L. Renfroe, stated that common sense solutions are needed, not privatization efforts that threaten postal employees’ jobs and universal service.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/us-postal-service-doge-agreement-daf3bf54fa0718908791fcb368b4d9d8