Postmaster General Louis DeJoy plans to cut 10,000 USPS jobs in the next 30 days through a voluntary retirement program in collaboration with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, according to a letter sent to members of Congress.
The agency's plan was announced during the final days of the Biden administration in January, but at the time didn't include the number of workers. USPS currently employs over 640,000 workers tasked with making deliveries to the most rural and hard to reach areas in the country. In 2021, the agency cut 30,000 workers.
USPS also announced plans to cut its $78B operating costs by more than $3.5B annually, as part of a broader effort to address financial challenges and streamline operations within the agency.
USPS listed issues in the letter that include mismanagement of the agency's retirement assets and Workers' Compensation Program and various regulatory requirements that Dejoy described as “restricting normal business practice.”
Dejoy wrote that he is “happy to have others to assist us in our worthwhile cause.”
Strong words from a man with one foot out the door. DeJoy was appointed to lead USPS during Trump's first term in 2020, but in February, informed the USPS Board of Governors that he plans to step down after they find a successor.
Leaders of two USPS employee unions told NPR that DeJoy assured them that there are provisions in the agreement that prevent members of DOGE from having unfettered access to information in the records of the Postal Service's more than half-million employees, however, NPR has not reviewed the actual agreement.
The USPS has operated as an independent entity since 1970 and has fought calls from President Trump and others to be privatized. Last month, Trump said he may put the agency under the control of the Commerce Department in what would be an executive branch takeover.