WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has agreed to pause planned further consolidation of the postal service’s processing network after a bipartisan group of senators raised concerns about the impact on mail deliveries.
In a letter to Senator Gary Peters made public on Monday, DeJoy said he would pause the consolidation of processing facility operations until at least January 2025.
DeJoy said the change would delay USPS cost savings of $133 million to $177 million. Peters said he would keep pushing DeJoy and the USPS board of governors “for a plan that won’t interfere with critical mail service.”
DeJoy said there were ongoing reviews of operations at about 60 of 427 processing plants nationwide. DeJoy in his letter promised not to move forward with further consolidation without advising Congress “and then only at a moderated pace of implementation.”
There has been mounting anger in Congress about changes that USPS has said are necessary to cut projected financial losses. Some lawmakers have raised concerns about closing a processing center in one state and shifting processing to another state.
