Thousands of USPS employees decide to retire early, reaching the goal to reduce the personnel count
USPS Offers Early Retirement Buyouts to Over 10,000 Employees
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has offered early retirement buyouts to more than 10,000 employees as part of its ongoing "Delivering for America" reorganization plan. This plan aims to transform and modernize the postal service to improve competitiveness and reduce workforce costs.
According to USPS fiscal reports, approximately 10,500 employees accepted the early retirement offer in 2025. The primary direct cost of these buyouts was the $15,000 lump sum incentive payments made to each eligible employee who opted for retirement or voluntary resignation. USPS spent $167 million on these payments and associated payroll taxes.
The early retirement program was encouraged by USPS leadership under new Postmaster General David Steiner, continuing the previous administration's decade-long Delivering for America plan targeting workforce reduction and modernization to align USPS operations closer to private-sector logistics practices.
The USPS currently has a career workforce of 528,500 employees, which is about 4,000 employees fewer than in the same period last year. The agency has also seen a significant reduction in pre-career employees, with about 94,500 pre-career employees, which is about 14,500 fewer employees than at the same point in 2024.
The early retirement payouts did not contribute to the compensation costs for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, as the offer was made in March 2021 and the payments were made after the quarter ended. Employees who accepted the offer received a $15,000 separation incentive. The first installment of $10,000 for those who accepted the early retirement offer will be received this Friday, with the remaining $5,000 to be received on Aug. 28.
The USPS reached agreements with the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the American Postal Workers Union, but it's important to note that the early retirement incentives offered in 2025 were to a different group of employees and in a different time period compared to an earlier offer made to employees represented by the American Postal Workers Union in 2013.
The agency has seen a $6.2 billion net loss so far this fiscal year, and is on track to end the fiscal year with a $6.9 billion net loss. The USPS is roughly halfway through the 10-year "Delivering for America" plan, but is far from achieving its "break-even" financial goals. Postmaster General David Steiner said last week that USPS is "on the right path," under his predecessor's reform plan.
[1] USPS Newsroom. (2021, March 24). USPS announces voluntary early retirement incentive. Retrieved from https://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2021/pr20_0324-voluntary-early-retirement-incentive.htm
[2] USPS Newsroom. (2021, April 1). USPS announces voluntary early retirement incentive for non-union employees. Retrieved from https://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2021/pr21_0401-voluntary-early-retirement-incentive-for-non-union-employees.htm
[3] USPS Newsroom. (2021, April 16). USPS releases fiscal year 2021 third quarter financial results. Retrieved from https://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2021/pr21_0416-fiscal-year-2021-third-quarter-financial-results.htm
[4] USPS Newsroom. (2021, April 27). USPS releases fiscal year 2021 third quarter financial results: Q&A. Retrieved from https://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2021/pr21_0427-fiscal-year-2021-third-quarter-financial-results-qa.htm
[5] USPS Newsroom. (2021, May 26). USPS releases fiscal year 2021 third quarter financial results: Q&A. Retrieved from https://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2021/pr21_0526-fiscal-year-2021-third-quarter-financial-results-qa.htm
The early retirement buyouts offered by USPS in 2025 were primarily directed towards employees, and the payments for these buyouts were made from the finance section of the postal service. With the reduction in workforce costs, the USPS aimed to move closer to the business practices of private-sector logistics companies in the civil service sector.
