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The work of thousands of letter and packaging workers from the U.S. Postal Service and UPS could be cut this year, and it is considering cutting costs and streamlining operations as President Trump’s tariffs and digital innovation ripple through the economy.
But what it means for those who carry the package to ship or are eagerly waiting for important bills or letters depends on where they live.
Here’s what we know so far:
How many jobs have been cut?
Last week, the CEO of United Parcel Services announced that the company will either cut 20,000 jobs this year, or cut about 4% of the global workforce, and close 73 distribution facilities by the end of June.
“We are carrying out the largest network reconfiguration in UPS history,” the company said in a statement. “This strategic initiative will optimize the capabilities of our network to increase productivity through additional automation, tailoring to the expected volume level.”
According to CNN, the closure is part of a long-term plan to modernize the operations of distribution centres, including adding automation in full or partially to the 400 facilities. Earlier this year, UPS announced it had signed a deal with its biggest customer, Amazon, to cut its business-related business by more than 50% by the second half of 2026.
“And the actions we take to reconfigure our network and reduce the costs of our overall business cannot be timely.” “The macro environment may be uncertain, but with our actions we are showing up as stronger and more agile ups.”
For some of that, the Teamsters union, which represents thousands of UPS workers, said it will fight cuts that harm its members.
“United’s parcel service has a contractual obligation to create 30,000 Teamster jobs under the current National Master Agreement,” Sean M. O’Brien, president of Teamsters General, said in a statement.
“Teamsters won’t get in the way if UPS wants to continue reducing its corporate management,” he said. “But if the company intends to violate our contract or pursues the work of a teamstar with a fierce battle, a good payout, UPS will be in the hell of battle.”
In March, then-postmaster Louis DeJoy announced that the US postal service would cut 10,000 positions and cut the postal service’s budget with the help of Elon Musk’s so-called government efficiency, according to a letter sent to members of Congress. The mask group is not a government agency.
The move will happen as postal services have experienced nearly $100 billion in losses and is projected to lose another $200 billion, Dejoy said in his letter.
As of 2024, USPS employs 533,724 people.
Postal Services has been working to modernize operational efficiency, service reliability and financial stability with the provision of the American Plan introduced in 2021.
The 10-year plan was updated last year to revisit the initial goals, highlight changes and plan future initiatives. In an updated report, the Postal Service said that the number of postal mail collected by the Post Office and carriers on its routes has declined sharply over the past decade.
The number of letters and postcards collected fell by 80%, down from 57 billion in 1997 to just 12 billion in 2023.
Currently, postal services are reconfiguring their collection and transportation processes to address the decline. The mail is currently being transported to the processing facility and post office once in the morning and twice a day in the afternoon. Reports say these delivery will be reduced to one trip per day in the morning.
“This will optimize transportation in the area, reduce unnecessary routes and facilitate processing,” the report said.
How does this affect estimated delivery time?
Despite cutting 20,000 positions and automating work at 400 facilities, UPS says changes in its operations will not affect the customer’s experience.
However, there are some changes to the US postal service that need to be anticipated.
These changes will be implemented in two phases, with the first phase beginning on April 1st and the second beginning on July 1st.
Delivery times for first-class mail, including letters and postcards, remain between 1-5 days.
Delivery times for Priority Mail Express, a service that allows customers to ship packages up to £70 to any state, can take 1 to 3 days. Previously, it would range from 1 to 2 days depending on the day the item was dropped.
End-to-end marketing email delivery, what most people call junk mail, along with magazines and newspapers, is delivered faster, but USPS didn’t provide details.
“Like postal mail, most competitive shipping products retain the same standard of service, some packages may have faster standards and some may have slightly slower standards,” the report said.
You can find out more about how long a package can be expected to arrive at your destination by visiting your local post office or checking out the “service commitment” tool online. The tool will require an exact zip code for where the package will be sent and mailed, and what date and time. Based on that information, we generate average estimated delivery times.
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