U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told Congress on Thursday he's partnering with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to cut 10,000 USPS jobs and billions in spending.
In a letter to lawmakers, DeJoy said the Postal Service has a "broken business model that was not financially sustainable without critically necessary and core change."
"Fixing a broken organization that had experienced close to $100 billion in losses and was projected to lose another $200 billion, without a bankruptcy proceeding, is a daunting task," DeJoy wrote. He emphasized the challenge of reforming a "massive, important, cherished, misunderstood and debated" organization.
DOGE will assist USPS in tackling "big problems" within the $78 billion-a-year agency. The partnership aims to identify and achieve greater efficiency.
The USPS cited issues like mismanaged retirement assets, Workers' Compensation programs, and restrictive regulations as major hurdles. These factors, the agency claims, severely limit "normal business practice."
"This is an effort aligned with our efforts, as while we have accomplished a great deal, there is much more to be done," DeJoy wrote.
Critics are alarmed by the agreement, predicting damaging effects nationwide. Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly warned that handing USPS over to Musk and DOGE would lead to privatization.
"The only thing worse for the Postal Service than DeJoy’s ‘Delivering for America’ plan is turning the service over to Elon Musk and DOGE so they can undermine it, privatize it, and then profit off Americans’ loss," Connolly stated. "This capitulation will have catastrophic consequences for all Americans – especially those in rural and hard to reach areas – who rely on the Postal Service every day to deliver mail, medications, ballots, and more. Reliable mail delivery can’t just be reserved for MAGA supporters and Tesla owners."
Brian L. Renfroe, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said they welcome genuine help but oppose privatization. He stressed that "common-sense solutions are what the Postal Service needs, not privatization efforts that will threaten 640,000 postal employees' jobs, 7.9 million jobs tied to our work, and the universal service every American relies on daily."
USPS currently employs around 640,000 workers, delivering mail everywhere from inner cities to isolated islands. The planned 10,000 employee reduction will occur through a voluntary early-retirement program within the next 30 days.
The Postal Service previously announced annual cuts of over $3.5 billion. This follows a 2021 reduction of 30,000 jobs.
As USPS, independent since 1970, struggles with declining first-class mail, it has resisted privatization calls. Last month, former President Donald Trump suggested putting USPS under the Department of Commerce, signaling a potential executive branch takeover.