According to USPS financial disclosures, the U.S. Postal Service is facing a crisis and shutting down dozens of local mail counters in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Washington after a staggering $9.5 billion loss in 2024. These counters, often inside small businesses, serve as vital lifelines for rural and underserved communities.
USPS says the closures are necessary to survive, but many worry this will delay mail and packages, hurting residents and small businesses who rely on these services daily.
Overnight Shutdowns Leave Small Towns Without a Postal Lifeline
By July 2025, USPS termination notices had forced the closure of contract postal units in multiple communities, removing a vital local mail option. In many small towns, these counters are the only nearby access to postal services.
Many residents could be forced to travel over an hour to access a full-service post office, making everyday mail trips a real challenge for seniors and small businesses.
The ‘Delivering for America’ Plan Hits a Financial Wall
The closures are part of USPS’s decade-long Delivering for America plan, launched in 2021 to modernize the service. However, losses have ballooned up nearly 50% from last year instead of shrinking, according to a USPS 2024 Financial Update.
Management blames falling first-class mail volumes, rising costs, and outdated infrastructure for the mounting deficit.
Rural America’s Mail Service Shrinks
In affected areas, nearby post offices can be 20–50 miles away. That distance turns routine mail drop-offs into half-day trips. Critics warn that these cuts hit hardest where USPS is needed most, in rural and low-income communities.
Many businesses and people in these areas have few digital options for paying bills, handling documents, or staying connected.
First-Class Mail Decline Deepens
First-class mail – once USPS’s financial backbone – has dropped nearly 4% yearly, part of a decade-long decline accelerated by online billing and communication.
While package shipping has surged, it hasn’t closed the revenue gap, leaving USPS increasingly dependent on cost-cutting to survive.
Labor Costs Consume Three-Quarters of USPS’s Entire Budget
Over 75% of USPS’s expenses go to labor, including wages, benefits, and pensions. Inflation and retirement obligations have increased costs, even as overall revenue growth stalls.
Modernization efforts like electric delivery vehicles and automated sorting machines have not brought the financial turnaround leaders promised.
Jobs Cut in Biggest Postal Workforce Reduction in a Decade
In March 2025, during a USPS Press Release, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced plans for significant job reductions through voluntary early retirement, marking one of the biggest workforce cuts in over a decade.
While USPS cites the need to match staffing to reduced mail volume, postal unions warn this will worsen delays and strain remaining employees.
Unions Sound Alarm: ‘Cuts Will Break the System’
Postal unions argue that closing CPUs and cutting jobs will overwhelm remaining staff, hurt morale, and degrade service. They’ve called for a temporary halt to closures while regulators investigate the impact, pointing to slower mail in regions already affected by restructuring.
Lawmakers Push Emergency Hearings to Stop Rural Closures
Congressional representatives, especially from rural states, are pressing for oversight hearings. Many say the closures will hurt small-town economies, delay prescriptions, and make basic services more complicated to access.
Several bipartisan proposals seek to protect rural post offices from being closed without community input.
Communities Fight to Save Local Postal Counters
Grassroots petitions have emerged in affected communities urging the USPS to reverse the closures. Some local governments are exploring legal action, arguing that the USPS has a federal obligation to maintain reasonable access for all citizens, regardless of profitability.
Another $6.9B Loss Looms for 2025
Even with planned postage hikes and further cost cuts, USPS forecasts another $6.9 billion loss for fiscal 2025. Given the pace of mail decline and persistent cost increases, leaders now concede that earlier break-even projections were overly optimistic.
Higher Postage Rates and Slower Mail Delivery
Customers should prepare for higher postage rates, potential delivery delays, and more local closures. USPS leadership insists these moves protect six-day delivery nationwide, but critics say rural and underserved areas will inevitably face reduced service quality.
$40 Billion Modernization
USPS is investing $40 billion in upgrades, including electric delivery vehicles and automated package handling. While these initiatives aim to improve efficiency, they’ve yet to deliver measurable financial relief, leaving skeptics questioning whether technology alone can fix deep structural issues.
Talk of Privatizing USPS Gains Political Momentum
With USPS unable to close its budget gap, some policymakers are reviving discussions of partial privatization. Supporters say it could bring efficiency and profitability, while opponents warn it would gut universal service guarantees and raise prices for rural Americans.
The Battle for the Future of America’s Mail Service
From delivering ballots to life-saving prescription drugs, the USPS remains woven into the daily lives of nearly every household in America. Whether as a fully public institution or a leaner, privatized operation, its future hinges on how it weathers this financial storm.
What’s at stake isn’t just mail delivery but the trust and access millions of Americans depend on daily. If that trust breaks, rebuilding it may be more complicated than balancing the books.