Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has notified the U.S. Postal Service’s board that it’s time to begin the process of identifying his successor to lead the 250-year-old postal network, USPS announced on Tuesday.
No specifics were given as to the timing of DeJoy’s exit.
After a career in private sector logistics, DeJoy was appointed to his current position in 2020. His tenure has been marked by controversy, starting with concerns that service cutbacks would hinder vote-by-mail efforts in that year’s presidential election.
DeJoy’s plan to depart the USPS comes in the midst of a 10-year overhaul he has orchestrated — including higher postal rates, slower standard delivery and fewer post offices — to stem the Postal Service’s financial hemorrhaging.
Under DeJoy’s original plan introduced in 2021, the USPS targeted a turn to profit in fiscal 2024 but instead reported two consecutive years of increasing losses.
The Postal Service in November reported its annual loss broadened to nearly $10 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024, versus a loss of $6.5 billion the year earlier. The Postal Service cited billions spent on noncash contributions to worker compensation as behind its expanded pool of red ink.
“There remains much critical work to be done to ensure that the Postal Service can be financially viable,” DeJoy said in the statement. The service is equipped with what DeJoy said are “ironclad plans” to reduce costs by over $4 billion annually and raise revenue by over $5 billion.
The announced departure by DeJoy — a prominent fundraiser for President Donald Trump — from the Postal Service gives the White House the chance to influence the decision to replace him, as the president does not appoint the postmaster.
Kate Gibson is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch in New York, where she covers business and consumer finance.
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