WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing bankruptcy, the U.S. Postal Service is pushing ahead with unprecedented cuts to first-class mail next spring that will slow delivery and, for the first time in 40 years, eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day.
The estimated $3 billion in reductions will be announced in broader detail Monday. They're part of a wide-ranging effort by the Postal Service to quickly trim costs — without immediate help from Congress in sight.
The changes could slow everything from check payments to Netflix's DVDs-by-mail. They could add costs to mail-order prescription drugs, and threaten the existence of newspapers and time-sensitive magazines delivered to far-flung suburban and rural communities.
And that birthday card mailed first-class to Mom could arrive a day or two late, if people don't plan ahead.