Postal Service To End Delivery Of Letters On Saturdays

Postal Service to End Delivery of Letters on Saturdays

Jim Wilson/The New York Times
A postal worker delivered mail in San Francisco last year.
By RON NIXON
Published: February 6, 2013 136Comments
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
GOOGLE+
SAVE
E-MAIL
SHARE
PRINT
REPRINTS

WASHINGTON — The Postal Service is expected to announce on Wednesday morning that it will stop delivering letters and othermail on Saturdays, but continue to handle packages, a move the financially struggling agency said would save about $2 billion annually as it looks for ways to cut cost.

Connect With Us on TwitterFollow @NYTNational for breaking news and headlines.
Twitter List: Reporters and Editors
Readers’ Comments
Share your thoughts.
Post a Comment »
Read All Comments (102) »
The agency has longsought Congressional approval to end mail delivery on Saturdays. But Congress, which continues to work on legislation to reform the agency, has resisted. It is unclear how the agency will be able to endthe six-day delivery of mail without Congressional approval.

News of the move was first reported by CBS News.

The announcement, which is expected at a Wednesday morning news conference, comes asthe agency continues to lose money, mainly due to a 2006 law which requires it to pay about $5.5 billion a year into a future retiree health benefit fund. Last year, for the first time, the agencydefaulted on two payments after it had reached its borrowing limit from the Treasury Department. The Postal Service also continues to see a decline in mail volume as more people shift to electronic formsof communication like e-mail and online bill paying services. Packaging is one of the few areas where the agency is seeing growth.

While many business and postal unions have generally opposedending Saturday delivery, most Americans support the move.

A New York Times/CBS News poll last year found that about 7 in 10 Americans say they would favor the change as a way to help the post office...