Postal Service to cut 30,000 jobs; What would you do to reinvent it?

The U.S. Postal Service plans to eliminate 30,000 jobs in a move to save $500 million in the next year. The Postal Service plans to offer buyouts to entice employees to retire or resign before the end of its fiscal year Sept. 30.

The Postal Service said in a statement that it cut a deal with the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) or the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) to accelerate job cuts.

Why? The Postal Service is under pressure from a weak economy and the use of the Internet as a payment mechanism.

In a statement, the Postal Service said:

Advances in mail processing technology and the continuing recession have led the Postal Service to more aggressively match work hours with work load. The majority of employees eligible for the incentive work in mail processing facilities.

Carriers aren't affected.

The move is part of a larger overhaul for the Postal Service. In fiscal 2009, the Postal Service expects to save about $6 billion through cutting work hours, halting construction, closing offices, reducing staffing levels and consolidating processing operations.

However, the larger question is whether those moves will be enough. The Postal Service may need to be reinvented going forward. Of course, that's easier said than done. I'll make you king of the Postal Service for a day. What would you do?

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com