{"id":13021,"date":"2020-01-21T18:34:05","date_gmt":"2020-01-21T18:34:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/01\/21\/cutting-employee-pay-didnt-help-usps-as-much-as-it-hoped\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:35:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:35:39","slug":"cutting-employee-pay-didnt-help-usps-as-much-as-it-hoped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/2020\/01\/21\/cutting-employee-pay-didnt-help-usps-as-much-as-it-hoped\/","title":{"rendered":"Cutting employee pay didn\u2019t help USPS as much as it hoped"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The U.S. Postal service has prioritized efforts to minimize employee compensation costs by reducing the number of overall work hours at the agency and paying new employees less than they had before, all as a means of making a dent in the agency\u2019s significant financial challenges<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a Jan. 17 Government Accountability Office report found that, despite these efforts, USPS has not saved as much as it initially predicted, and meaningful cost savings will require more comprehensive changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUSPS estimates a savings of about $9.7 billion from fiscal years 2016 through 2018 as a result of paying new employees less, among other efforts. GAO substantiated about $8 billion in savings, and found that USPS\u2019s cost savings estimates are likely overstated because they do not fully account for changes in work hours or tenure of employees,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The calculation of true cost savings from reduced employee compensation may also be more complicated than simply comparing former salaries with new, lower salaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\t