Update: Postal Service Plans to Stop Saturday Mail Delivery

Updated 8:05 a.m. Wednesday with the official announcement from the U.S. Postal Service.

The U.S. Postal Service will stop delivering mail on Saturdays beginning the week of Aug. 5 to save an estimated $2 billion per year, according to a Wednesday announcement.

Packages and mail to PO Boxes will continue to be delivered on Saturdays, and post offices now open Saturdays will remain open after the change.

"The Postal Service is making the announcement today, more than six months in advance of implementing five-day mail delivery schedule, to give residential and business customers time to plan and adjust," the announcement stated.

It appears that the Poway Post Office, at 13308 Midland Rd., would remain open Saturday, as its current operating hours include 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
The Postal Service, which is not funded by tax dollars, has been struggling as customers opt for other delivery services and send less mail. According to the Associated Press, the Postal Service "reported an annual loss of a record $15.9 billion for the last budget year and forecast more red ink in 2013, capping a tumultuous year in which it was forced to default on billions in retiree health benefit prepayments to avert bankruptcy."

The USPS has taken steps in recent years to cut costs.

"Since 2006, the Postal Service has reduced its annual cost base by approximately $15 billion, reduced the size of its career workforce by 193,000 or 28 percent, and has consolidated more than 200 mail processing locations," according to Wednesday's announcement.

About 7 in 10 Americans support ending Saturday delivery to cut USPS debt, according to a June poll by The New York Times/CBS News.

Tell us: Will you miss mail on Saturdays? What other ways do you think the USPS could save money instead of (or in addition to) cutting delivery days?

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