US Postal Service to Cut 7,500 Jobs

(Wall Street Journal) - Struggling with record losses, the United States Postal Service will cut 7,500 managers and close seven district offices, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The cuts, which include postmasters, supervisors and other administrators, will come as part of the agency's previously disclosed plan to close as many as 2,000 post offices and consolidate regional mail-processing centers over the next 12 months.

District offices will close in Columbus, Ohio; Albuquerque, N.M.; Billings, Mt.; Macon, Ga.; Providence, R.I.; Troy, Mich.; and Carol Stream, Ill., the Postal Service said. The agency has not identified post offices that will close but has said that many will be in rural areas where they are losing money and residents may have access to services in another town.

The Postal Service is struggling with declining mail volume and retiree health-benefit costs, according to US Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe.

"It's critical that we adjust our workforce to match America's changing communication trends as mail volumes continue to decline," he said in a statement. "At every step and with every change, our focus remains on our customers and continuing to provide outstanding customer service."

Still, postmasters play important roles, particularly in smaller communities, said the National League of Postmasters of the United States.

"Especially in rural areas, the post office is the only face of the federal government in the community" and the postmaster is "an integral part" of daily life, John Jameson, III, executive vice president of the group, said in an interview.

"In the very smallest offices, in most cases they are the only employee, so they are actually interacting with customers every single day," he said.

Slashing managers is the latest attempt by the Postal Service to right itself after losses of $8.5 billion in fiscal 2010. The agency projects it will lose $6.4 billion this year.

Read more: Wall Street Journal