Major online retailers split on plan to cut Saturday mail

On June 23, lawmakers will hear split views on proposed cuts in Saturday mail delivery from two of the nation's leading online retailers and largest customers of the U.S. Postal Service.

Representatives of Amazon.com will call delivery cuts "a bad idea," while Netflix, the DVD mail-rental company, will say cuts would have little, if any, impact on its subscribers. "Ceasing Saturday deliveries would be much worse for our rural customers, who simply would not be able to receive parcels on Saturday because there are no alternatives," Amazon Vice President Paul Misener will tell lawmakers. The online retailer would shift at least a sixth of its business to other carriers if the Postal Service stops delivering on Saturdays, Misener will say. Netflix does not endorse Saturday delivery cuts "in a vacuum" but considers them "a reasonable proposal in light of the very difficult challenges facing the Postal Service," according to the prepared testimony of executive Andrew Rendich. Executives from Condé Nast magazines and Hallmark also will testify Wednesday, but their testimony was unavailable.