Local Post Offices Safe from Cut

The U.S. Postal Service announced Thursday that nearly 250 mail processing facilities are being studied for potential closure or consolidation.

The ongoing study is designed to help the USPS stay financially sustainable and save up to $3 billion a year by cutting over half of its processing facilities across the nation.

The Customer Service Mail Processing Center in Acworth has made the list, along with 12 other processing facilities in Georgia, including those in Marietta, Cartersville and Douglasville.

However, this does not affect the , according to USPS spokesman Michael Miles.

"This will have no impact on the or post offices," said Miles. "It’s the behind the scenes operations that are being considered for closure or consolidation."

Miles said mail volumn has reduced significantly in recent years, and many people choose electronic communication over post office these days. "A lot of our processing centers are simply not being used as much as before," said Miles.

Miles also said there will be minimum impact on current jobs in the Acworth area. “We have career plus temporary employees. If they are career, they won’t lose their jobs, but will be transferred to other locations," he said.

The results of the study are expected to be completed around March 2012. Besides downsizing its network of processing facilities, the USPS is also considering cutting its transportation network, revising service standards for First-Class Mail and laying off as many as 35,000 employees as part of the new plan.