Citing two people informed about its strategic plan for the United States Post Office, the newspaper reported that DeJoy outlined getting rid of a first-class type of mail with two days delivery, which includes envelope-sized correspondence sent locally. All first class mail would be sent within the three to five day interval currently set for non-local mail, according to the Post.
An effort to increase postal rates is also underway, the newspaper reported.
DeJoy declined to comment on the plan because it was not finalized, he said in a statement to CNN. He said that for eight months the head of the Post Office evaluated the proposals for changing the strategic plan, an effort that “is being carried out in the direction of our Board of Governors with their full participation and commitment”.
He said he solicited feedback from lawmakers, as well as industry, unions and administrative leaders on “successfully fixing the problems that are preventing the postal service from meeting the expectations of the American people for reliability.”
The agency anticipates “sharing more details in the coming weeks” about the plan, said DeJoy, saying that “work is not only necessary, it is long overdue”.
DeJoy told people close to him that he wants to remain in office under President Joe Biden, two sources told CNN, despite his troubled management at the post office and his experience as a supporter and donor of former President Donald Trump.
The two acquaintances told the Post that while the new policy is not expected to affect local service, corporate mail senders, such as banks and retailers, are concerned that it will exacerbate bottlenecks in non-local mail. The plan would also prevent the transport of first-class mail by plane, they told the newspaper.
Postal industry officials told the Post that delivery delays plus rising prices could lead commercial mailers to use the already problematic postal service less frequently and, in turn, put pressure on the postal service to further reduce services or increase fees.
A former postal executive told the Post that the potential savings from eliminating air transport was unclear, as it depends on how much more mail your truck system could handle without additional costs.
A 50% savings may not even make up for the loss of revenue from the reduction in mail accelerated by service cuts, the person told the Post.
“The savings that they will get from this is not much compared to what they will do with customers,” the former executive told the newspaper, “and that is assuming they implement everything right, which they never do.”
CNN’s Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.