Facing a financial crisis, the United States Postal Service announced that 223 processing facilities have been "found feasible for consolidation, all or in part." Of the 264 processing facilities studied, only 35 are set to remain open.
The closings could result in the loss of 35,000 jobs. USPS has posted a full list of the facilities — which process and sort mail on its way to being delivered — on its website.
The postal service said the changes could help it reduce its operating costs by $20 billion by 2015, making the service profitable once more.
In a statement, the USPS explained the financial picture:
Update at 3:47 p.m. ET. 35,000 Jobs:
The AP and Reuters are reporting that the closings and consolidations could mean the loss of 35,000 jobs. Reuters adds:
Update at 3:41 p.m. ET. Six Facilities On Hold:
Last week, Patrick Danahoe, the postmaster general, told Congress that his service also needed to raise the price of first-class stamps by 5 cents in order to reach that $20 billion in savings.
USPS says six facilities "are on hold for further internal study."
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