USPS cuts seasonal hiring to 10,000 as automation carries peak

The U.S. Postal Service will bring on just over 10,000 seasonal workers for this year's peak — down from 14,000 last year and 40,000 a few years back — because it says machines and a steadier workforce can carry the 40% volume surge between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 without the temporary muscle.

That's the headline number in Thursday's announcement, and it tells you where the organization's peak strategy now sits: automation first, labor second. USPS says it expects to beat its 2025 peak performance, when mail and parcels moved in 2.5 days on average against 2.8 days the prior year.

"We have been preparing all year for this peak season, and we have enough capacity to handle whatever comes our way," Postmaster General David Steiner said.

What does the smaller hiring class actually mean?

Since 2020, USPS has combined improved staffing, fewer supervisor vacancies and lower overtime rates into a more stable permanent workforce, which it says has cut the need for temporary help. The release credits new technology and logistics planning for the ability to absorb the holiday influx.

Last year's numbers back the claim, at least directionally. Between Nov. 15 and Jan. 9, on-time delivery scores improved in nearly all service categories. The strongest scores came in last-mile delivery for shipped parcels and for postal consolidators injecting pre-sorted freight at post offices with large back-end receiving facilities — a workaround that skips upstream postal processing entirely.

The $40bn middle-mile rebuild

The hiring cut rests on hardware. This year USPS installed 164 additional automated package sorting machines at facilities nationwide, bringing the total to 673 high-speed sorters under a $40 billion investment plan launched in 2022 to rebuild the middle-mile network. The new machines handle more and larger parcels than previous generations.

In fiscal 2026, which ended Sept. 30, USPS opened 31 sorting and delivery centers (S&DCs) plus 10 regional processing and distribution centers working alongside 35 local processing facilities. Since 2022 the tally stands at 182 S&DCs, 19 regional DCs and four standalone regional transfer hubs.

The S&DC model replaces what officials describe as a patchwork of nearly 19,000 destination delivery units — post offices with receiving docks too small, ill-equipped and poorly maintained. Each S&DC consolidates the work once spread across roughly 10 DDUs and runs small sorter equipment processing 2,500 to 4,300 pieces per hour, serving upward of 200,000 customers daily.

Faster scans, new commercial chief

Visibility is improving too. A tracking and reporting platform introduced in 2025 runs nearly four times faster than its predecessor, often posting updates within a minute of scanning. It connects to systems that feed accurate location data to customers through the USPS app or signed-up messages — a meaningful upgrade for shippers and consolidators who answer for delivery promises.

On the commercial side, USPS created a Chief Solutions and Strategy Office to analyze the whole enterprise, centralize network planning and identify efficiency gains. The group is also working more closely with customers to match needs to postal solutions.

Earlier this month the organization promoted Gary Reblin to chief commercial officer. Reblin, who joined 35 years ago and served as chief technology officer since August 2025, said on LinkedIn that his CTO insights will guide decisions on modernizing sales, competitive parcel pricing, retail stores, delivery and tracking. He is credited with shaping the early partnerships that bring privately transported parcels directly to local post offices for final delivery — a segment that continues to generate revenue growth for the financially struggling operator.

Why it matters

Peak season tests carriers hardest, and customers punish the ones caught short. For shippers and consolidators leaning on USPS for the final mile, the bet is that 673 sorters, a consolidated hub network and faster tracking hold up under a 40% volume lift — and that this year's delivery average drops below that 2.5-day mark.