The U.S. Postal Service is moving forward with its plan to slow some first-class mail deliveries in an effort to achieve financial sustainability for the struggling agency, NPR and Reuters report.
Under a 10-year plan called “Delivering for America (DFA),” the USPS will add one to two days to the service standards for certain first-class mail and periodicals.
The plan is set to take effect on October 1 and will relax the current first-class letter delivery standard of one to three days to a one-to-five-day benchmark, according to Reuters.
In a notice published in the Federal Register, the USPS said about 61% of first-class mail will remain at its current standard.
The USPS argues that modifying select service standards will allow for additional transport time for long-distance package deliveries and increased network efficiencies.
“The new FCPS service standards will also enable additional package volume to be transported by surface transportation, which is more reliable and affordable compared to air transportation,” wrote the USPS in a student in June.
With its 10-year plan, the USPS says it aims to reverse a projected $160 billion in losses over the next 10 years.
While speaking at a board of governors meeting on Friday, postmaster General Louis DeJoy acknowledged that the plan includes “uncomfortable changes,” but he said the USPS is confident it's headed in the right direction, “which is slightly away from what we have done in the past—as we know what we have done in the past has not worked.”
