US Postal Services posts US$1.9bn loss

The US Postal Service has announced a net loss of $1.9bn during its fiscal second quarter.The economic recession and longer-term financial pressures, such as the diversion of letter mail to electronic alternatives, continued to reduce mail volume and revenue.In the second quarter, total mail volume came to 43.8 billion pieces, down 7.5 billion pieces, or 14.7%, compared to a year ago.The USPS has taken measures to match work hours to the reduced mail volumes. These measures have resulted in a work-hour decline of 58 million hours - the equivalent of a reduction of 33,000 full-time employees - in the first half of the 2009 financial yar. This is despite the number of delivery points increasing by 1.1 million from the same period last year.The USPS is also being crippled by massive payments for retiree health benefits.