U.S. Postal Service to slow down deliveries

In an effort to stave off bankruptcy, the United States Postal Service will slow down first-class delivery next spring. Budget concerns and declining mail volume will lead to the elimination of 28,000 jobs nationwide. The $3 billion in reductions will help avert bankruptcy, but will also eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day for the first time since 1971. 252 out of 461 mail processing centers will be shut down starting next April. There will also be a 1-cent increase on postage.

Postal vice president David Williams cited the move to the Internet, as more people rely on email communications and paying bills online, as the reason behind the measures. “Are we writing off first class mail? No,” Williams said. “Customers are making their choices, and what we are doing is responding to the current market conditions and placing the postal service on a path to allow us to respond to future changes.”