Ben Margot/AP

Postal Service to lay off up to 2,000 employees

Voluntary retirement packages and buyouts also may be considered as USPS moves to close more than 220 mail processing facilities.

The U.S. Postal Service could eliminate as many as 2,000 employees through a reduction in force, according to Federal Times.

The affected employees would face layoffs as part of USPS’ larger goal of shuttering more than 220 mail processing plants. USPS is delaying its facility closings until mid-May and some lawmakers have said they don’t see the closures as a done deal.

USPS plans to eliminate a total of 30,000 career positions through the downsizing. Most of the 2,000 employees targeted for RIFs would be white-collar executives, supervisors and administrators lacking union representation, according to Federal Times.

Additionally, Louis Atkins, president of the National Association of Postal Supervisors, told the paper on Friday that he expected USPS to offer bargaining unit and white-collar employees voluntary early retirement packages within the next month.