As part of a major undertaking to reduce costs and remain competitive, the United States Postal Service plans to cut its administrative staff by 33% over the next three years, John Nolan, Deputy Postmaster General for the Service, told a group yesterday attending the Direct Marketing Association Government Affairs Conference 2000 in Washington, DC.
“Times ahead are tough,” Nolan said.
The cuts, 13% this year, followed by 10% each year over the next two years at the Postal Services headquarters and 10 area offices, are part of a larger plan to reduce costs by $6 billion over the next six years. “We are going to examine everything we do and how we do it,” he said.
In addition to the staff cuts, Nolan is awaiting a report on the value of each piece of property and every building the service owns. The report will be scrutinized to eliminate excessive costs that could add up to millions of dollars which could be invested in technology to help drive down costs, he said.
A dramatic change is also underway in determining rate increases.
Nolan said he has organized a team that over the next few weeks will begin work planning the 2003 and 2005 rates cases with a completely “different spin.” Rates will no longer be driven by operating costs but by customer rate requirements.
“We’ve got to remake this Postal Service,” he said.
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