| DECEMBER 11, 2011 -- Processing centers that handle most mail from Northwest Connecticut, Greater Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley would be closed under plans announced Monday by the cast-strapped U.S. Postal Service.
Centers in Wallingford and Stamford were identified Monday as being on the chopping block along with 250 other centers nationwide. Nearly 30,000 workers would be laid off, as the post office struggles to respond to a shift to online communication and bill payments.
In September, the postal service said it was looking into consolidating the Wallingford operation into the processing center in Hartford.
The cuts are part of $3 billion in reductions that would virtually eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day. The postal service has blamed the cutbacks on steadily declining mail volume.
Postal Vice President David Williams said at a news briefing in Washington that the service is not "writing off first class mail" but that it must respond to new market realities in which people are turning more to the Internet for email communications and bill payment.
"It's less of a disaster than it would have been 10 years ago, but it'll be a cash flow crunch for some companies," said Todd McCracken, president and chief executive of the National Small Business Association. "It'll be longer to get your invoice, and longer to get a check back."
First-class mail is supposed to arrive at U.S. homes and businesses in one to three days; about 42 percent of it arrives in one day. The cutbacks will back up deliveries to two to three days; periodicals could take up to nine days.
The plan technically must await an advisory opinion from the independent Postal Regulatory Commission, slated for next March. But that opinion is nonbinding, and only substantial pressure from Congress, businesses or the public might deter far-reaching cuts.
Williams said the post office needs to move quickly to cut costs as it seeks to stem five years of red ink amid steadily declining mail volume. After hitting 98 billion in 2006, first-class mail volume is now at less than 78 billion. It is projected to drop by roughly half by 2020.
The agency already has announced a 1-cent increase in first-class mail to 45 cents beginning Jan. 22.
Williams said in certain narrow situations first-class mail might still be delivered the next day -- if, for example, newspapers, magazines or other bulk mailers are able to meet new, tighter deadlines and drop off shipments directly at the processing centers that remain open.
But in the vast majority of cases, everyday users of first-class mail will see delays. The changes could slow everything from check payments to Netflix's DVDs-by-mail, add costs to mail-order prescription drugs and even threaten the existence of newspapers and time-sensitive magazines delivered by postal carrier to far-flung suburban and rural communities.
The Postal Service faces imminent default -- this month -- on a $5.5 billion annual payment to the Treasury for retiree health benefits and expects to have a record loss of $14.1 billion next year.
"Are we writing off first class mail? No," Williams said. "Customers are making their choices, and what we are doing is responding to the current market conditions and placing the Postal Service on a path to allow us to respond to future changes. We have to do what's in our control to put the Postal Service on sold financial ground."
The cuts would close 252 of the nation's 461 mail processing centers beginning next spring. They would result in the elimination of roughly 28,000 jobs. The number of employees varies by processing facility but generally ranges from about 50 to 2,000. Cincinnati, Boston and New Orleans are home to some of the largest centers. |
