Post Office posts $5.1B loss, situation 'dire'

Karen Bleier / AFP - Getty Images

The government faces difficult decisions on the Postal Service.

By Msnbc.com staff and wire

The U.S. Postal Service said Tuesday it lost $5.1 billion last year as a weak economy and increased Internet use drove down mail volume.

The bleak financial report for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 was not as high as the $10 billion in losses previously estimated. But that's because an annual payment of $5.5 billion the post office owed the federal government has been deferred to a later date.

Postal officials called the financial situation "dire." They say the Postal Service will not be able to make the $5.5 billion payment due this Friday due to low cash flow.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe has warned of a postal shutdown next year unless there is congressional action to address the agency's long-term money problems.

?The Postal Service can become profitable again if Congress passes comprehensive legislation to provide us with a more flexible business model so we can respond better to a changing marketplace,? said?Donahoe in a statement. ?To return to profitability we must reduce our annual costs by $20 billion by the end of 2015."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/15/8822837-a-diresituation-post-office-loses-51-billion

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