Citing two people briefed on its strategic plan for the US Postal Service, the paper reported that DeJoy has outlined getting rid of some sort of two-day, first-class delivery, including envelope-sized mail sent locally. All first-class mail would thus be shipped within the three to five day range currently set for non-local mail, according to the Post.
An attempt to increase postal rates is also in the works, the paper reported.
DeJoy declined to comment on the plan because it has not been finalized, he said in a statement to CNN. He said the postal administration had spent eight months reviewing the proposed changes to the strategic plan, an effort that is “under the direction of our Board of Directors with their full participation and commitment.”
He said he had sought feedback from lawmakers as well as industry, union and management leaders on “successfully solving problems that prevent the postal service from meeting the expectations of the American people for reliability.”
The agency expects to “share more details” about the plan in the coming weeks, DeJoy said, claiming that such “work is not only needed but is also long overdue.”
DeJoy has told his loved ones he wants to remain in his role under President Joe Biden, two sources told CNN, despite his difficult tenure at the helm of the postal service and his background as a supporter and donor to former President Donald Trump.
The two well-known people told The Post that while the new policy is not expected to affect local service delivery, corporate mail senders, such as banks and retailers, are concerned that it will exacerbate existing bottlenecks on non-local mail. The plan would also prevent first-class mail from being transported by air, they told the newspaper.
Postal industry officials told the Post that delays in delivery and rising prices could prompt commercial postal operators to use the already struggling mail less frequently, and in turn put pressure on the mail to further reduce services or reduce rates. to increase.
A former director of the postal service told the Post that the potential savings from eliminating air transport were unclear, as it depends on how much more mail the freight system could handle at no additional cost.
Savings of 50% may not even make up for lost revenue from reduced mail, accelerated by the service cuts, the person told the Post.
“The savings they will get out of this are not much compared to what they are going to do to customers,” the former executive told the paper, “and that presupposes that they implement everything right, which they never do.”
CNN’s Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.