USPS to Cut 10,000 Jobs in 2002

The U.S. Postal Service said Tuesday that it will eliminate 10,000 more jobs this fiscal year, on top of the 15,000 positions it has cut in the last six months. Facing a projected deficit of more than $3 billion in the 2002 fiscal year, which will end Sept. 30, the Postal Service developed a reorganization plan and asked Congress to let it raise rates faster and give discounts to large mailers.” The article states: “Labor costs make up 76 percent of the Postal Service’s expenses, compared with 56 percent for its chief private rival, UPS, and 42 percent for Federal Express. The career work force of 760,000 is down from 797,000 in 1999. In the last six months, 8,100 career positions have been eliminated.