US Postal Service plans golden handshake for 30,000

The US Postal Service, the second largest employer in the US after Wal-Mart, is offering a golden handshake in order to reduce 30,000 jobs by the end of this fiscal in its bid to reduce costs by $6 billion after running up losses in 11 of the last 12 quarters.

The US Postal Service is offering a cash incentive of $15,000 to those employees who opt for voluntary resignations and early retirements, a move that will bring in savings up to $500 million in the next two years.

Employees who take the offer would be paid $10,000 from October to December, with the remaining $5,000 being paid in October 2010.

The postal service said that the one-time offer is a strategic move to accelerate targeted staffing reductions and it came after reaching an agreement with the American Postal Workers Union and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union.

''This decision reflects our desire to provide a fair and equitable opportunity for some of our longest-serving employees,'' said Anthony Vegliante, chief human resources officer and executive vice president. ''It is important to the Postal Service that we take appropriate measures to address our current financial situation.''

The majority of those who could take the buyouts work in the mail processing facilities, but the offer will not be available to letter carriers because the number of addresses grow by 1.5 million each year, the post office said.