Initiative targets thousands of post office locations and jobs

The U.S. Postal Service is launching an initiative to close underutilized post office locations, which could leave up to 4,000 employees looking for new jobs.

USPS on Tuesday released a list of 3,653 post offices it will consider consolidating or closing. These "low activity" locations don't have a significant workload or customer traffic to justify the expense of paying employees to remain open, officials said.

Of the post offices to be studied, 3,061 bring in less than $27,500 in annual revenue and leave employees standing around with no more than two hours of work to be done despite being open for up to eight hours a day, officials said. These locations each cost USPS more than $100,000 to operate annually, predominately in employee compensation. Remaining post offices on the list either have been suspended or generate less than $1 million in revenue annually and are near to other postal service locations.

According to officials, most of the locations up for closure or consolidation are staffed by postmasters. Approximately 3,000 postmasters, along with 500 station managers and up to 1,000 clerk positions could be affected. Some carrier routes may shift, but jobs would not be lost, they said. The agency will follow reduction-in-force procedures currently being used to reduce the administrative workforce. Under the RIF process, employees can apply for vacant positions within the agency.

"It's a very fair process across the board," Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said.

In previous years, local communities reviewed and recommended offices for closure. The new study process begins at headquarters, takes into account customer demand, employee workload and access to other retail outlets, and is set to last approximately 120 days.

Closures could occur as early as January 2012, said Dean Granholm, vice president of delivery and post office operations, adding the process could take longer if local residents appeal to the Postal Regulatory Commission.

To boost customer access in the face of potential closures, USPS is launching village post offices -- retail outlets within small businesses, town halls, libraries or grocery stores. These locations will open in areas where no post office currently exists or that will be affected by the consolidation initiative. Village post offices will be run by contract employees and, if successful, could save $200 million annually. Granholm said he expects nearly 2,500 locations to open in the next year.

Officials insisted that potential closures would not affect customers' ability to find USPS services, even in rural areas. In addition to the agency's website, village locations and other retail outlets that sell stamps, mail carriers are "post offices on wheels" and can conduct transactions made in bricks-and-mortar offices, they said.

"Today's announcement underscores the serious nature of the Postal Service's financial situation and reflects the commitment of its leadership to adapt and overcome the challenges it faces," said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., who in May introduced postal reform legislation. "Closing a significant number of post offices that are losing money or are no longer necessary to meet the current demand for Postal Service products and services is a difficult but necessary step in the broader effort to save the Postal Service from total collapse."