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Although it is true that since last January the United States Postal Service (USPS) has been contemplating a voluntary early retirement program in order to achieve greater efficiency in the context of some operational complications that have hindered its viability, it is surprising that in recent days they announced an agreement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) headed by Elon Musk.
The 'unpopular' measure
The mogul and personal friend of President Donald Trump is not exactly the most beloved figure in American politics today, thanks to the hundreds of thousands of job cuts throughout the U.S. bureaucratic apparatus, and therefore should not be a reference for any initiative, especially if it is already underway, as is the case with the USPS.
A letter from USPS CEO Louis DeJoy to members of Congress details the plan to cut 10,000 employees and save $3.5 billion a year from the allocated budget, and will use DOGE in an attempt to solve the agency's delicate problems, which despite having an annual turnover of $78 billion has not been easy to stay afloat
The USPS' serious problems
However, this would not be the first time that the US Postal Service has carried out a mass layoff, as in 2021 it laid off 30,000 workers, after which it retained some 640,000 workers who are responsible for delivering mail from city centers to rural areas and even remote islands.
Among the many problems caused by the current situation facing the USPS are mismanagement of retirement assets and its workers' compensation program, but it is the regulatory requirements it must comply with that have ultimately undermined its finances, as they dramatically limit business practices and therefore revenue.
Reactions from detractors
Of course, this news immediately found detractors, especially from the Democratic side, who accuse the measure of having a privatization agenda, just as Virginia Representative Gerald Connolly accused, who said: "This capitulation will have catastrophic consequences for all Americans, especially those in rural and hard-to-reach areas, who rely on the Postal Service daily to deliver mail, medicine, ballots and more."
*With information from Lapresse