Big Breakup

Amazon and USPS are parting ways

Amazon and the U.S. Postal Service are in the middle of a major realignment, and several developments paint a picture of a long‑running partnership under serious strain.

Amazon has begun pulling back from its decades‑long USPS delivery partnership, after reporting a $9.5 billion loss tied to the arrangement. This shift puts roughly 100,000 postal jobs at potential risk. Reports indicate Amazon is preparing to walk away entirely, ending a nearly 30‑year relationship that once formed the backbone of its last‑mile delivery network.

A separate standoff involves a $6 billion contract dispute, signaling deeper tensions as Amazon pivots toward an AI‑driven logistics future and expands its own delivery infrastructure. USPS is opening its last‑mile delivery network to more shippers, reducing Amazon’s dominance and allowing regional carriers and smaller businesses to bid for access to its 18,000+ delivery units.

Amazon currently generates over $6 billion in annual revenue for USPS, and losing that business could significantly hurt the Postal Service’s financial stability. Contract negotiations continue ahead of the October 2026 expiration.

This is a major decoupling: Amazon is accelerating its own delivery ecosystem while USPS is diversifying away from reliance on a single giant customer. The outcome will reshape U.S. logistics, rural delivery access, and the economics of e‑commerce shipping.