The U.S. Postal Service may resort to early retirements and buyout offers as a way to slash its staff by 66,000 employees this year and another 51,000 next year. Combined, the planned cuts over the next two years amount to more than one-fifth the agency’s workforce.
Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry said Wednesday that Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe alerted him a week earlier that USPS could offer both early retirement and buyout incentives to encourage employees to leave.
Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett on Thursday outlined for reporters the Postal Service’s ambitious plans to pare down its workforce in the next five years by 155,000 employees — ultimately reaching an end strength of 402,000 by the end of fiscal 2016.
Normal attrition removes roughly 30,000 employees a year, so it appears likely the agency will have to resort to either early retirement offers or buyouts or both to reach its downsizing targets. The agency’s labor contracts generally prohibit layoffs.
Corbett told reporters in a conference call that early retirement incentives are under consideration, but he did not discuss the possibility of buyouts.
full story via Federal Times.
After 30 years with the USPS, I retired in 1999. And I can tell you one thing, postal workers want to work, they don’t want a buyout or an early out. These people want work!! Where the hell does the Postmaster General or Numbnuts in the White House think people are going to find a job? The problem is these dickheads do no care, they have their money.
As far as continuing to raise the price of stamps….that only forces people to e-mail. Is there no such thing anymore as a Customer Service Representative to urge customers to use postal products?
When I first went to work for the old Post Office Department, life was not all that rosy and postal workers had to depend on Congress for a raise, but since the creation of the USPS it has been downhill all the way to this fiasco.
Good night and good luck.
What is with this added years bs……just show me the money! I am close enough to my 80%, if i was that greedy, i would just try to hang on at this dying business a couple more years. Most of the people i know with my years of service will wait out the jerks for a buyout, but i don’t see anyone hanging on past this year. The way everything is going, i say get out while the gettin is good, because things are gonna go South pretty quick!
Henry Jones, why would you rather have years rather than cash? Even if you get 2 years FERS, 1 year Civil Service, which is what I’ve heard, that would amount to maybe $80 a month. Even if they gave you 5 years that would be arounjd $200 a month. It would take you 12 years to make that $25000 they’re talking of offering. And that’s not counting the interest you’d make if you put it in some stocks! At the 2% which they want to offer, it would take you more than 25 YEARS to make that $25000!
What’s taking congress? They said they would jump right on the postal situation after the Christmas break! Now there seems to be a bill in congress that would get rid of the Social Security Supplement for those between 56 and 62, as well as making us pay more into retirement and get less out. Can they take away the Social Security Supplement? Maybe that’s why they’re procrastinating on the buyouts, so they won’t have to pay all those people the social security supplement? They’re wicked! Why does Congress pick on the little guy, the Postal Worker? Why not the billiionaires? Hmmm.
When Early Out hits I’m gone in half a heartbeat.
THE EMPLOYEES ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE NOW ARE WAITING FOR AN INCENTIVE OFFER OF 3 TO 5 YEARS ADDED TO OUR PENSION. WE
DON’T WANT THE CASH. WE NEED IT MONTHLY. IF THEY OFFER
CASH WITH NO YEARS, MOST OF THE OLD FARTS ARE STAYING.
Want me to leave,Mr. Potter ? Make me an offer i can’t refuse! it”s that simple.
Work until you’re 70, f* em. Wish I could get free Health care for me and mine for life like the worthless slug former POMP just got for getting a BIG PAYOFF job in Chicago for her and her girlfriend. Suck on that you TEAbaggers.
The sad part of this is….all the good people will leave and the same useless idiots who mismanaged the USPS into its present situation will still be there. Give everything 3 or 4 years and the USPS will be crying for more breaks. As Article 3 of the National Agreement says, “management has the right to mismanage”. So true.
american Airlines is offering their old farts 75k plus free healthcare for life to go early, Chrysler offered 100k plus a free car of your choice plus free health care for life. The rocket scientist who run the PO offer no cash, you pay for your own healthcare and thats it. This place simply cannot operate like a real company. Its not in their genes. Ive been here 25 yrs and theyve been at odds with their unions the entire time. It wouldnt even dawn on them that a good working relationship with craft employees would be productive to business. This place is a culturally monolithic business Titanic .
gimme some dough so i can get the hell out of my workplace. i cant stand working with these stupid teabag idiots anymore.
With all the talk of buyouts for a few months now no one that I know is going to leave until they see the money, so if the big wigs think about waiting us out to see if we would go naturally with out a buyout —-think again. I can’t wait to go because of the toxic environment I work in but will wait for the money.
if u read the above correctly USPS wants to eliminate 66,000 this yr. and 51,000 next yr. so yes while the average over 5 yrs. is about 31,000/yr. almost 2/3 will be in the 1st 2 yrs
57+15YRS USPS if even a 24month 2yr early add/incentive to lv i would bail in a heartbeat! 15 yrs at boeing previously combined and only 12 mo shy of non-penalty Supplemental SSI age 60 i win..i can work a meaningless job until 60 12 months wal-greeter fast-food what ever..non of the 25yr+60 are getting out and i am pissed at them for not’ i like the every-3-6 mo monkeying around with their routes it’s about time them step-it up and either move their sorry asses quicker’ or get out! their routes will continue to grow and be a mess as time goes on no more are the old-dogs retieing off the same ol route after 20-30 yrs that route will have been diced tinkered with and will no longer resemble the original route from the 70’s,80’s another reason these old dogs are getting pissed and finally hitting the door for good!! and good riddens..
Who in the PO knows ANYTHING about math??If the rest of the “ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE” are like me….SHOW ME THE MONEY and I will smile all the way to the bank. I WILL NOT LEAVE until they pay me.Yep I am greedy but now us OLD FART’S are driving the damn bus AND THEY CAN’T GET RID OF US!!! So I feel sure that alot more feel just like me…we will be laughing at all you “YOUNG-UN’S” when you see what the old PO has in store for you starting as soon as they PAY us to leave!!!!!By the way..when they do give us the CHECK…we better cash it FAST!!!
who ever wrote that article apparently doesn’t know his math.
If the average number of employees that leave each year is 30,000 and the Post Office is trying to reduce their work force by 155,000 over 5 years, then there is no problem. 155,000 divided by 5 yrs. equals 31,000 per year.
Let’s hear some incentives. Let’s move this thing on We’re tired of the dribble let’s see some offers.
lets do it!!!!