Trump cuts hit US post offices, mail deliveries: Report

New York, May 6: Jobs for thousands of letter and package delivery workers at the US Postal Service (USPS) and United Parcel Service (UPS) could be cut this year, with both looking to slash costs and streamline operations as the effects of US President Donald Trump's tariffs and digital innovation ripple through the economy, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Last week, the chief executive of UPS announced that the company will cut 20,000 jobs this year, or about 4 per cent of its global workforce, and plans to close 73 distribution facilities by the end of June, Xinhua news agency reported.

The closures are part of a long-term plan to modernise the operations of distribution centers, including adding automation, either fully or in part, to 400 of its facilities.

Earlier this year, UPS announced that it had reached a deal with Amazon, its largest customer, to reduce business-related operations by more than 50 per cent by the second half of 2026.

In March, then-Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced the USPS would be cutting 10,000 positions as well as slashing the budget with the help of the Department of Government Efficiency.

"The move comes as the Postal Service has experienced close to $100 billion in losses and was projected to lose an additional 200 billion dollars," noted the report. USPS employed 533,724 people as of 2024.

Despite cutting 20,000 positions and automating work at 400 facilities, UPS says the changes to its operations will not affect the experience of customers.

But for the US Postal Service, some changes should be expected.

These changes will be implemented in two phases. The first phase began April 1 and the second will begin July 1.

Reader Comments

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Rahul K.

This is what happens when governments prioritize short-term cost cutting over public services. In India we've seen similar issues with postal services struggling to modernize. Hope USPS workers get proper support during this transition. 🇮🇳

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Priya M.

Automation is inevitable but 20,000 jobs lost is huge! In India we're also seeing this shift with digital India initiatives. The question is - are governments doing enough to retrain workers for new roles? 🤔

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Arjun S.

Interesting to see this happening in America too. Our India Post has been facing similar challenges with declining letter volumes. But at least they've been expanding parcel services with e-commerce growth. Maybe USPS should learn from that?

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Sunita T.

$100 billion losses?! That's more than India's entire postal budget for decades! Shows how even developed nations struggle with public services. Hope they find a balance between modernization and job protection.

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Vikram J.

The Amazon deal reduction is telling. Even in India, we see private logistics companies overtaking traditional post. But complete automation isn't always the answer - human touch still matters in customer service.

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Neha P.

As someone whose uncle worked for India Post for 30 years, this hits close to home. Government jobs provide stability - these mass layoffs in US are worrying. Hope our policymakers learn from this while modernizing our systems.

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