USPS slims to meet demand
The U.S. Postal Service has begun shrinking the hours of operation at some post offices as a slump in first-class mail grows.
About half the post offices in Maine have scaled back operations in recent months, opening later or closing earlier or at lunchtime. Similar moves are under way in Vermont and upstate New York, and managers across the country are weighing the possibility of additional cutbacks, according to an agency spokesman.
The Wall Street Journal said the service hasn’t set a target for the number of hours to be trimmed nationwide, but it is making cuts at times of the day when few customers are buying stamps or sending packages.
The moves are the latest in a belt-tightening campaign under Postmaster General John Potter aimed at reducing costs without eroding service. The world’s largest mail-delivery operation is quietly downsizing its work force, with almost 47,000 full-time jobs, or 6%, eliminated through attrition since Potter took the top job in mid-2001.
