USPS lists 3,700 post offices for closure

WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. Postal Service listed 3,700 post offices across the country that could be shuttered, the largest downsizing the agency has experienced.

The money-losing stations, branches and main offices that could be shuttered starting in January represent about 11 percent of the Postal Service's retail operations and affect about 4,500 employees, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The Postal Service said it hoped the downsizing would save $200 million a year even though it expects to lose $8 billion for the second straight year as it fights plunging mail volume.

"We've made heroic efforts to take costs out of the organization while continuing to provide services," Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said during a news conference. "We have employees waiting for customers to come into their lobbies, and they have less than two hours they're working."

About 2,500 of the 3,654 sites targeted for possible closure would be replaced by a clerk in a local business or community facility in a business model the Postal Service describes as a "Village Post Office," that would offer basic services such as sales of stamps and flat-rate packages and mailbox rentals, the Post said.

Donahoe said the closures would affect about 4,500 postmasters, station managers, supervisors and clerks. While some could apply for other postal positions, others would lose their jobs, he said.