The U.S. Postal Service will offer retirement incentives if it is allowed to make cost-cutting moves like eliminating Saturday delivery, its CEO told a Congressional panel today.
Rep. Dennis Ross, chairman of the House subcommittee overseeing postal legislation, stated that USPS needs to lose nearly 150,000 employees via attrition "to rightsize the expenditure side of the Postal Service." He asked Postmaster General Pat Donahoe whether he would offer employees retirement incentives to make that happen.
"We do plan on issuing some incentives based on the fact that we make some changes in our operation," Donahoe responded during a hearing. "As we shrink the network, as we move from six- to five-day delivery, we would put in some incentive money to move people along."
He did not specify what sort of incentives would be offered or how they would be funded. Nor did he state whether retirement incentives would be offered if Congress blocks some of his cost-cutting proposals.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
USPS Seeks 'Soft Landing' For Downsized Employees, Donahoe Says
The U.S. Postal Service plans to provide a "soft landing" for employees affected by downsizing and is looking for ways to avoid closing rural post offices, the Postmaster General will testify Tuesday.
"The Plan to Profitability focuses on workforce reductions through employee attrition versus layoffs or wage reductions, meaning impacted career employees would be able to retire or find another job in the Postal Service," PMG Pat Donahoe will tell a House subcommittee. USPS released his prepared remarks today.
"In response to declining mail volumes and to increase productivity, the Postal Service consolidated over 200 mail processing facilities in the past five years from our peak number of 673 facilities in 2006. In doing so, we have customarily provided a 'soft landing' for employees through retirements and reassigning staff, in an effort to minimize impacts on employees. We have been, and continue to be, a responsible employer."
Donahoe will largely reiterate his plea that Congress enable the Postal Service to adjust to declining mail volumes with such cost cuts as eliminating Saturday delivery, closing facilities, and letting it leave the federal government's inefficient employee-healthcare plan. But he will also provide hints that USPS's plan to balance its budgets is still a work in progress.
"The Plan to Profitability focuses on workforce reductions through employee attrition versus layoffs or wage reductions, meaning impacted career employees would be able to retire or find another job in the Postal Service," PMG Pat Donahoe will tell a House subcommittee. USPS released his prepared remarks today.
"In response to declining mail volumes and to increase productivity, the Postal Service consolidated over 200 mail processing facilities in the past five years from our peak number of 673 facilities in 2006. In doing so, we have customarily provided a 'soft landing' for employees through retirements and reassigning staff, in an effort to minimize impacts on employees. We have been, and continue to be, a responsible employer."
Donahoe will largely reiterate his plea that Congress enable the Postal Service to adjust to declining mail volumes with such cost cuts as eliminating Saturday delivery, closing facilities, and letting it leave the federal government's inefficient employee-healthcare plan. But he will also provide hints that USPS's plan to balance its budgets is still a work in progress.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Are E-Book Sales Reaching a Plateau?
When the U.S. magazine industry gets hot and bothered about the latest craze, you can usually bet that trend is about to run out of steam.
E-books were the talk of many magazine people at this week’s Publishing Business Conference in New York, my spies tell me. The web – which is so hopelessly last year – was hardly mentioned. Everyone wanted to chat about their e-books and tablet editions, more so about their cool factor than about whether they were earning much profit.
Meanwhile, the book-publishing half of the huge conference was getting some rather startling news: The once-exploding sales growth of e-books in the U.S. has slowed dramatically, according to research from RR Bowker. (My correspondent’s account is corroborated by Paul Biba of TeleRead.) This just proves Stein's Law of Economics: An unsustainable trend cannot be sustained.
“We went from exponential to incremental growth,” said Kelly Gallagher, a Bowker vice president, who also referred to "some level of saturation" in the U.S. market. The breathless predictions of two years ago, which suggested that the growth of e-books would soon shut down all the book printing presses and brick-and-mortar bookstores, turned out to be way off the mark.
E-books were the talk of many magazine people at this week’s Publishing Business Conference in New York, my spies tell me. The web – which is so hopelessly last year – was hardly mentioned. Everyone wanted to chat about their e-books and tablet editions, more so about their cool factor than about whether they were earning much profit.
Meanwhile, the book-publishing half of the huge conference was getting some rather startling news: The once-exploding sales growth of e-books in the U.S. has slowed dramatically, according to research from RR Bowker. (My correspondent’s account is corroborated by Paul Biba of TeleRead.) This just proves Stein's Law of Economics: An unsustainable trend cannot be sustained.
“We went from exponential to incremental growth,” said Kelly Gallagher, a Bowker vice president, who also referred to "some level of saturation" in the U.S. market. The breathless predictions of two years ago, which suggested that the growth of e-books would soon shut down all the book printing presses and brick-and-mortar bookstores, turned out to be way off the mark.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Not Dead Yet: Son of Black Liquor Has Not Been Vanquished, Contrary to News Reports
It’s alive!
Recent media reports about the death of the Son of Black Liquor tax loophole for U.S. paper companies turned out to be greatly exaggerated.
The Washington Post stated Thursday that the transportation bill approved by the Senate the previous day would be paid for partly by ending a tax credit for black liquor, a pulp byproduct.
“At Last, the Final Chapter in the Black Liquor Saga,” Mother Jones trumpeted the same day. Like the Post, it subsequently issued a correction.
The legislation at one time indeed included language that would have made black liquor ineligible for Cellulosic Biofuel Producer Credits (CBPCs, also known as Son of Black Liquor credits), for an estimated savings of $2.8 billion, as Dead Tree Edition reported last month.
Recent media reports about the death of the Son of Black Liquor tax loophole for U.S. paper companies turned out to be greatly exaggerated.
The Washington Post stated Thursday that the transportation bill approved by the Senate the previous day would be paid for partly by ending a tax credit for black liquor, a pulp byproduct.
“At Last, the Final Chapter in the Black Liquor Saga,” Mother Jones trumpeted the same day. Like the Post, it subsequently issued a correction.
The legislation at one time indeed included language that would have made black liquor ineligible for Cellulosic Biofuel Producer Credits (CBPCs, also known as Son of Black Liquor credits), for an estimated savings of $2.8 billion, as Dead Tree Edition reported last month.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)