The US Postal Service will stop delivering mail on Saturdays but continue to deliver packages six days a week under a plan aimed at saving about $2 billion, the financially struggling agency says.
As of August 1, all first-class mail—which includes pretty much all letters, bills, cards, and catalogs—will only be delivered on weekdays. Packages, express, and Priority Mail will still get dropped off on the weekend. The change would mark the end of weekend deliveries for the first time in 150 years.
The move is designed to save a company that is collapsing under mountains of debt, soaring costs, and a steep decline in customers. The USPS has cut more than 35 precent of its workforce in recent years, closed hundreds of offices, and cut back hours at the ones that remain open. Yet, the outfit is still losing more than $40 million a day, and is hamstrung by federal regulations that prevent it from making any major decisions (like rate hikes) without Congressional approval.
Unfortunately, canceling Saturday delivery would not even being to fill in the company’s giant financial sinkhole. Officials estimate that dropping first-class mail to five days a week will save $2 billion a year. Last year, they lost $16 billion.
