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(Nati Harnik/AP/File)

The U.S. Postal Service is bringing on restructuring advisers to help it address mounting financial problems that officials say could leave the agency out of cash within a year.

The Postal Service hired consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal in recent days to develop a plan, Postmaster General David Steiner said March 4 in an interview.

All options are on the table, including potential cuts to service and staffing, he said.

“We have to be prepared to do what we have to do because we cannot rely on outside forces,” he said. “If we don’t do something, no one’s getting their valentines next year,” he added.

The move underscores the seriousness of the cash woes that have dogged the post office for years. The agency has sought to cut costs and improve efficiency to stem heavy annual losses.��

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Steiner took the top job last year following the��abrupt departure��of predecessor Louis DeJoy, who had come under pressure from President Donald Trump.

Shortly after returning to the White House, Trump mused publicly about taking the service private or folding it into the Department of Commerce.

USPS ranks No. 4 on the��Transport Topics Top 50 list of the largest global freight companies.