USPS Could Save $1 Billion by Combining Delivery Operations, Study Says

The U.S. Postal Service could save about $1 billion annually by closing nearly 10,000 postal facilities that house both retail and carrier functions, according to a study released today. A plan presented by the USPS’s Office of Inspector General would mean fewer clerks and postmasters, but increased labor costs for letter carriers.

“The greatest opportunities for facility consolidation are with the highest-density ZIP Codes where the space per route is high and other units are nearby,” the report says. That’s in apparent contrast to the Postal Service’s own approach to closing post offices, which critics claim overwhelmingly focuses on sparsely populated