USPS to close 3,653 post offices

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WASHINGTON, July 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. Postal Service is expected to announce a plan to close 3,653 post offices, mostly in small communities, in a cost-cutting measure, officials said.

A USPS spokeswoman said the post offices were chosen because they get the "least amount of foot traffic and retail sales," The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

They also were selected because there may be local businesses that could provide some postal services to the community, spokeswoman Sue Brennan said.

The list of the closures, amounting to about 11 percent of the USPS' post offices nationwide, will be made public Tuesday by Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe,

The Postal Regulatory Commission would have to approve the widespread closings, as the USPS prepares to file a request for a "national change of service," Brennan said.

Donahoe also will announce "a replacement strategy" involving third-party retailers, she said.

"If you're a community and there is a local convenience store, for example, we might be reaching out to these organizations to see if they would be interested in providing limited postal service for the community that might be affected," Brennan said.