Postal Service to eliminate more than 1,000 jobs in reorganization

The Postal Service plans to eliminate 1,060 accounting technician positions and close its 85 regional accounting offices by September 2003 as part of a plan to streamline its financial reporting system.

Beginning Nov. 2, the first group of employees whose positions are targeted for elimination will have the opportunity to bid for other jobs within the Postal Service, according to agency officials. The first group will include agency employees in the Washington area. The reorganization will affect employees at the Postal Service's headquarters and regional offices.

"The employees have the opportunity to move to other vacant positions. They do not leave the Postal Service. … No one is being let go," said Donna Peak, the agency's comptroller and vice president of finance.

While eliminating positions in regional offices, the Postal Service plans to add 350 jobs at its three accounting service centers, which are located in San Mateo, Calif.; Eagan, Minn.; and St. Louis, Mo. Many of the employees from the first group will transfer to those offices, Peak said.

The Postal Service has racked up billions of dollars in losses in recent years. Postmaster General John Potter vowed to reform the agency's finances and in fiscal 2002, the Postal Service trimmed $2.9 billion from the bottom line by cutting 77 million work hours and reducing the workforce by 23,000 employees. The cuts were achieved through attrition.

The agency is continuing to transform itself, and eliminating duplicative services and reallocating personnel are key components of its plan.

"The whole intent here is that we are reengineering our processes and that eliminates the paperwork," Peak said. "Somewhere downstream in the organization, we won't have to hire a clerk because these employees will now have filled those vacancies."

The workforce reallocation is just one part of a financial systems overhaul nearly two years in the making. Other elements in the plan include replacing five aging time and attendance systems with a Web-based system and the addition of a new paperless travel system.

"Our intent for all of these initiatives is to not only reduce costs, but to improve management and operations for the Postal Service," Peak said.

The agency's accounting manager, Jane Schwarz, has met frequently with American Postal Workers Union (APWU) officials in the months since the by the Postal Service's Board of Governors first approved the financial overhaul in January 2001. "I have personally met with staff, they were notified when we had the final numbers and there have been letters throughout this process," Schwarz said.

But an APWU spokeswoman said while union officials did negotiate a deal allowing employees to transfer to the new positions at the service centers, they are still concerned about the Postal Service's decision to eliminate the positions.

"Job elimination always means an inconvenience and dislocation to employees and their families," said union spokeswoman Sally Davidow. "We sought to make as many accommodations as we could for members. Whether or not [the job eliminations and consolidations] are justified remains to be seen."