In an effort to reduce expenses, the United States Postal Service is proceeding with a plan to slow the delivery of some first-class mail – a move some critics say will have a disproportionately negative impact on groups that include small businesses.

On Friday, Aug. 6,, the Postal Service revealed it has finalized the initiative to change existing one-to-three day service standards for first-class mail to one-to-five days. The longer delivery period, which is effective October 1, will apply to 39% of first-class mail. The remaining 61% will be delivered during the current one-to-three day window, officials said.

Delivery standards will be slower for about 7% of periodicals as well.

USPS made the service change, in significant part, to cut down its reliance on air transportation, which the organization asserts is less reliable and more expensive than ground transport. The Postal Service, which has been incurring steep loses for years, revealed last week that it posted a $3 billion loss in the second quarter of 2021.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said the service changes could be “uncomfortable,” but asserted they’re the right move if the Postal Service wants to move toward financial sustainability while still providing essential service.

“We are confident we are headed in the right direction, which is slightly away from what we have done in the past," DeJoy said, according to an NPR report.

Some members of the Postal Service’s Board of Governors criticized the delivery change and other elements of DeJoy’s controversial 10-year plan for USPS.

Ronald Stroman, one of three new governors named by President Biden and a former deputy postmaster general, said that intentionally slowing first-class mail and package delivery by changing service standards is “strategically ill-conceived, creates dangerous risks that are not justified by the relatively low financial return, and doesn't meet our responsibility as an essential part of America’s critical infrastructure.”

Stroman further maintained that the changes will “disproportionally impact our seniors, middle- and low-income Americans, and small businesses, who are our most loyal customers and most dependent on us.”

The board did not act to stop or modify the planned changes.

Meanwhile, the Postal Service plans to move forward with price increases on August 29, despite the objections of some federal lawmakers.