USPS: More Cost Cutting Needed to Avoid Bailout

In updated financial reporting, the U.S. Postal Service said its “still-precarious financial condition” may eventually lead to a government bailout. 

A Nov. 14 report showed a net loss of $9.5 billion, $3 billion more than last year’s $6.5 billion loss. USPS said this increase primarily stems from the “year-over-year increase in non-cash workers’ compensation expense.” 

“The fact remains that we continue to have losses, and it is evident that to break even and avoid running out of cash in the next several years we must press ahead on our revenue-generating and cost-cutting initiatives,” the agency stated in an updated filing of Delivering for America 2.0 that accompanied the report. It later notes that “if we do nothing more, we remain on the path to either a government bailout or the end of this great organization as we know it.” 

One positive from the report was an increase in total operating revenue for this year: $79.5 billion, up $1.4 billion from last year. Also, controllable loss sits at $1.8 billion for this year, compared to $2.2 billion last year.