By Arlenys Tabare
This Monday, the e-commerce giant, Amazon announced the closing of an agreement with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to maintain 80% of the volume of packages to the most important customers amid the financial difficulties currently facing the shipping agency.
Through a statement, Amazon highlighted: “We are pleased to have reached a new agreement with the USPS that strengthens our long collaboration and will allow us to continue supporting our customers and communities together,” he said. The cut of only 20% is beneficial for the postal agency compared to the 60% that Amazon had previously proposed.
The agreement represents a lifeline for the postal service that is going through a liquidity crisis with a high risk of declaring bankruptcy this year, as stated a few weeks ago by the USPS customs director, David Steiner, in addition to the risk that the retailer will replace it by using another shipping agency or expanding its own network.
So far, Amazon stated that the agreement will maintain the relationship with USPS, although it did not deny that it hopes to continue expanding its own delivery service; However, for now it does not intend to be a rival to the postal agency.
In the latest reports, The United States Postal Service indicated that it has been having net losses reaching $118 billionwhich is why it recently announced that it will make some adjustments to the costs of both first-class stamps and shipping rates, the latter caused by the increase in the price of gasoline.
“This temporary price adjustment will provide needed flexibility to the Postal Service by helping to ensure that the actual costs of doing business are covered… I’m not sure the American public is aware that the Postal Service is in a critical situation. Without changes, in less than a year, you will not be able to deliver mail if we maintain the status quo,” Steiner said.
Keep reading:
- The Postal Service one step away from the abyss; director warns that he will run out of funds in a year
- The USPS announces temporary increases in postal rates to compensate for the increase in fuel prices
- Former Los Angeles postal worker sentenced to 5 years for bank fraud
