The U.S. Postal Service is seeking to cut Saturday mail delivery starting in the first half of next year, Bloomberg reported.
The Postal Service, which forecasts a $238 billion budget deficit by 2020, says it would save about $3.3 billion in the first year from eliminating deliveries on one day and $5.1 billion a year by 2020.
Postmaster General John Potter told reporters Monday in Washington that given the current projected deficits, the USPS would like to move as quickly as possible to a five-day schedule, Bloomberg said.
USPS will file its proposal with the Postal Regulatory Commission in Washington Tuesday and is also seeking the permission from the U.S. Congress, which by requires delivery to all U.S. addresses six days a week.
The agency proposes to keep open local offices on Saturdays and continue processing and transporting mail during the weekends, Bloomberg reported.
The USPS said reducing deliveries would eliminate about 40,000 full-time jobs and help it return to solvency as mail volumes erode as more customers use electronic communications, Bloomberg said.
