As many as 30,000 employees could take the offer, at a total cost of about $450 million, the agency said yesterday. The Postal Service said its two-year savings could reach $500 million.
The agency said it reached an agreement on the buyout offer with the American Postal Workers Union and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union.
The majority of those who could take the buyouts work in mail-processing facilities, the service said.
The offer is open to those eligible for retirement and early retirement. It also includes employees in select positions, such as retail clerks, distributors and mail handlers, who are willing to resign voluntarily.
Letter carriers, who are in different unions, weren't offered the buyouts because the number of addresses the agency must service is growing, Postal Service spokeswoman Yvonne Yoerger said.
"That's not an area where we need reduction," she said.
The workers have to decide by Sept. 25.
Employees who take the offer would be paid $10,000 total in October, November and December. They would get an additional $5,000 in October 2010.
The buyouts are part of a series of cost-saving efforts by the agency. A hiring freeze is also in place, and management salaries have been frozen. The service also has cut more than 100 million work hours since the fiscal year started Oct. 1. It has stopped construction of facilities and closed six district offices, among other steps.
The agency has lost $4.7 billion so far this year.
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