Businesses large and small have been struggling through the recession, and the U.S. Postal Service is also feeling the strain of the poor economy. The government agency recently admitted to a $3.8 billion loss last year, and in an attempt to keep their doors open, the post office is hoping to put an end to Saturday mail deliveries.
As this article on CNN explains, the USPS posted a $3.8 billion loss in its 2009 fiscal year, the latest in a multiyear string of whopping losses. Mail volume was down 12.7% for the year, a trend the agency expects to continue over the next decade as more consumers opt for online bill payments and message delivery.
The Post Office was $10 billion in debt as of Sept. 30 -- not far off from its $15 billion debt limit, which the agency expects to hit in its 2011 fiscal year.
The challenges hurting USPS's bottom line are reflective of a "macro change in society," Postmaster General Jack Potter said at a press conference Monday previewing the proposed changes. "All posts around the world are challenged, just as we are, by the diversion of hard copy to electronic medium."