The United States Postal Service announced on Wednesday that it plans to stop delivering mail on Saturdays, beginning August 1.
The USPS, which has struggled financially with multi-billion dollar losses in recent years, does plan to continue Saturday delivery of packages and mail-order medicine. Also, most post offices will remain open on Saturdays and post office boxes will continue to receive Saturday mail delivery.
The volume of profitable forms of mail has been in sharp decline largely due to the proliferation of electronic forms of communication.
The move, which may require Congressional approval, is expected to save $2 billion annually. The USPS is an independent government agency that does not receive tax dollars to fund operations.
The USPS lost nearly $16 billion during fiscal 2012.