The Postal Service has announced that it ended the second quarter of fiscal 2013 with a $1.9 billion loss, after already having reached its $15 billion debt limit and defaulting on $11.1 billion in retiree health benefits payments in 2012.
USPS, which also anticipates missing its next $5.6 billion benefits payment due in September, said it continues to cut costs by reducing work hours – by 2.4 percent in the second quarter, or seven million hours compared to the same period last year.
Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett noted that reduced work hours were the largest contributor toward meeting savings targets as the Postal Service continues to consolidate mail processing, retail and delivery networks in the absence of legislation providing greater autonomy to management and relieving a health benefits pre-funding obligation.
USPS reduced its workforce by about 25,000 employees in the second quarter and by 46,000 in the last year, mostly through attrition and buyouts. Postal employment is now just under 500,000.
