By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Postmaster Normal Louis DeJoy, who led efforts to restructure the money-losing U.S. Postal Service for almost 5 years, has resigned efficient instantly, the company stated on Monday.
DeJoy, a former logistics government and main Republican political donor who took over in 2020, had clashed with lawmakers over reforms on the company that has misplaced greater than $100 billion since 2007.
Republican President Donald Trump, who in February known as the company a “super loser for this nation,” stated he was contemplating merging the Postal Service with the Commerce Division, a transfer Democrats stated would violate federal regulation.
DeJoy stated earlier this month that he had requested the federal government effectivity crew led by Elon Musk for help with various points and signed an settlement on reform help.
DeJoy in February stated he had requested the Postal Service governing board to determine his successor however had given no indication that he deliberate to step down abruptly. Musk stated this month he thought USPS ought to be privatized.
“A lot work stays that’s essential to maintain our constructive trajectory,” DeJoy stated in an announcement, including that Monday was his final day on the job and that Deputy Postmaster Normal Doug Tulino will head the company till the postal board names a everlasting successor. They’ve employed a search agency, he added.
Democratic lawmakers for years known as for DeJoy to be fired however agreed to provide USPS $50 billion in monetary reduction in 2022.
In Could, DeJoy agreed to pause deliberate additional consolidation of the USPS processing community after senators raised considerations in regards to the affect on mail deliveries.
DeJoy has led an effort to dramatically restructure USPS over the past 5 years, together with chopping forecast cumulative losses over a decade to $80 billion from $160 billion at the same time as mail volumes fell to the bottom stage since 1968.
The outgoing postal chief has used techniques just like the Musk-led Division of Authorities Effectivity crew, together with shrinking the workforce and canceling or renegotiating contracts.
Two media retailers reported final month that Trump was getting ready to difficulty an government order to fireside the USPS’s board of governors.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has stated the Postal Service might assist shrink the division’s prices by offering employees to conduct the U.S. census and deal with duties carried out by 20,000 Social Safety staff.
USPS, an company with 635,000 staff that misplaced $9.5 billion final yr, has been exempt from DOGE-directed federal worker reductions. DeJoy stated this month that USPS plans to scale back its workforce by 10,000 employees within the subsequent month via a voluntary retirement program.
In 2020, DeJoy confronted harsh criticism from Democrats over USPS dealing with of election mail. In 2024, USPS delivered no less than 99.2 million ballots to and from voters within the November presidential election.
The White Home didn’t instantly touch upon whether or not it had any involvement in DeJoy’s departure. Final week, the White Home compelled out the chief government of U.S. passenger railroad service Amtrak.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in WashingtonEditing by Matthew Lewis)
Source link