WASHINGTON: US President-elect Donald Trump has expressed a keen interest in privatising the US Postal Service, the Washington Post reported, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.

The US Postal Service, which has lost more than US$100bil since 2007, reported a net loss of US$9.5bil for its financial year ending Sept 30, US$3bil more than last year, largely due to a year-on-year increase in non-cash workers’ compensation expense.

When told of the agency’s annual losses, Trump said the government should not subsidise the organisation, according to the Washington Post.

Trump, who takes office on Jan 20, has discussed his desire to privatise the postal service with Howard Lutnick, his pick for Commerce Secretary, the report said.

People who will work at the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, have also had preliminary conversations about major changes to the postal service, the report said, citing two other people.

An agency spokesperson said that over the last three years, the company has reduced its operations by 45 million work hours, and cut transportation spending by US$2bil.

The agency is also seeking regulatory approval to modernise its mail processing and transportation network to align with modern practices, which will save between US$3.6bil and US$3.7bil annually, the postal service spokesperson added.

“No policy should be deemed official unless it comes from President Trump or his authorised spokespeople directly,” said Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump transition team.

Any attempt at privatising the postal service could disrupt the e-Commerce industry, the Washington Post said, including Amazon, which uses USPS for “last-mile” delivery between Amazon’s fulfillment centres and customers.

It could also hurt small businesses and rural consumers, who use the postal service, as it is the only carrier that will deliver to remote corners of the country.

Amazon recently said it was donating US$1mil to Trump’s inaugural fund and will air his inauguration on its Prime Video service.

Trump has had a tense relationship with the postal service. Sources told Reuters his transition team is considering cancelling the service’s contracts to electrify its delivery fleet.

According to sources, the team is reviewing how it can unwind the service’s multi-billion-dollar contracts, including with Oshkosh and Ford, for tens of thousands of battery-driven delivery trucks and charging stations.

In 2020, Congress authorised the treasury department to lend the postal dervice up to US$10bil as part of a US$2.3 trillion coronavirus stimulus package, which Trump threatened to block. 

 - Reuters