Thousands accept postal service buyout deal

People wait on line to mail packages ahead of the Christmas holiday at the James A. Farley Post Office in Manhattan Dec. 20, 2010, in New York City. / Getty Images

Updated: 12:05 p.m. ET

In the face of ongoing financial struggles and an uncertain future, more than 25,000 workers at the United States Postal Service are accepting an early-retirement buyout offer, according to a spokesperson for the American Postal Workers Union.

The USPS, which closed 2012 with $15.9 billion worth of losses, has been crippled in recent years by huge financial shortfalls that have threatened to shutter the nation's only federal mail delivery service. The early retirement offer is part of an effort to winnow down the staff and preserve financial solvency.

Nearly all of the agency's employees are eligible for some form of buyout, and according to the American Postal Workers Union, there's no limit on the number of employees who can accept the offer in most divisions of the agency. For long-term full-time employees, the offer includes a $15,000 cash buyout and an early-retirement package, and eligible part-time employees will receive a pro-rated amount. Full-time employees were instructed to indicate their decision by Dec. 3 and be ready to leave by Jan. 31, while part-time employees have until January 4 to decide. Employees who are eligible for regular retirement can change their minds until the effective date of their retirement, Jan. 31, 2013.

According to Sally Davidow of the APWU, 25,500 APWU-represented employees have opted for the incentive. Some of those are eligible for early retirement, but most are eligible for regular retirement.

• U.S. Postmaster General: "We're facing our own fiscal cliff"

In a November appearance on "CBS This Morning," Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe spelled out the agency's financial hardships and called on Congress to pass legislative reform during the lame duck congressional session.

"What we're facing now is our own fiscal cliff in this lame duck session. It's hard," he said. "People pay their bills online. So, we lost about 25 percent of our volume in the last five years... The other issue we're faced with is we're required by law to pre-fund retirement health care for people who haven't retired yet to the tune of $5.5 billion a year. That's what's hurting us from a financial standpoint. So as the volume dropped, we have not been able to make this payment."

He added: "If [Congress] act[s] now, we'll get this whole thing behind us and we can be profitable and then focus on growing the postal business."

Given the prolonged, ongoing battle in Washington over how to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff," however, the chances of getting to postal reform before the year's end looks increasingly unlikely.

Mark Saunders, a spokesperson for the USPS, said the agency would not confirm the number of employees who have accepted the buyout until January 7, when the tallies are final.

[diddy_back_again]

People still use USPS?

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

Somebody forgot to take their medication.

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

Voters need to realize republicans want in on government office only to sabotage it. They are not there to make it better.

[diddy_back_again]

Somebody forgot to take their medication.

[CraigDV]

Isn't it ironic, these 25,000 employees will retire, not be
replaced and nobody will know the difference. Doesn't that tell
you how the Post Office has larded up the place with excess
people?

[masstom]

my office of two full time clerks and one part time will notice a difference when i retire in january. My manager and supervisor will be doing my job and nobody will complain loud enough about the mail being curtailed until they can train a new part timer to work at half my pay.

[PourpaixPourpaix]

Yup, let's just give the employees money without making them work. That's sure to fix the problem.

[signseeker1717]

You don't seem to understand that these people are taking EARLY RETIREMENT with a severance bonus. BTW, ANY employee who retires with a pension gets money without working FURTHER.

These are long time, full time employees who EARNED what they are getting. Pensions are only a PERCENTAGE of what a worker makes on the job, so when workers retire, money IS saved.

[diddy_back_again]

SpineLessObama, you are a great American!

[credibility2]

Until the issue of pension funding is resolved and that includes no more till death do you part provisions, the USPS is going to continue to have economic problems and will continue expecting taxpayers to cover their you know whats.

[Putzey9]

Taxpayers do not cover the USPS.

[123-cbsnews]

Post office has been basically useless for thirty years, junk mail each day, email works just fine, everyone should be able to receive and pay bills online. The companies held on to paper for three decades wasting all of our time.

[cabinboy9]

They should get jail time. For rail roading the U.S. Post Office.
By making them pay their pension plan , early? Billions up front.
Now the post office suffers because the Neo-cons want to privatize
to UPS and FED - EX. The US Post Office. An Icon of America.
Screw the republican scabs. Hire a scab.

[WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING]

Are you going to buy everyone a computer or pay for their internet service?

[Now_and_then]

Yet another act of deliberate republican sabotage of this country's institutions. Can these traitors be impeached or somehow thrown out of office?

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

Agreed! Voters need to realize republicans want in on government office only to sabotage it. They are not there to make it better.