Springfield not part of first phase of USPS consolidations

The Springfield mail processing center, 500 W. Chestnut Expressway, appears to be temporarily safe from consolidation.

The U.S. Postal Service yesterday announced it would move forward with plans to consolidate its network of mail processing locations. The first phase, which would result in up to 140 consolidations by February 2013, does not include the Springfield sorting center.

However, USPS officials say they will begin the second and final phase of another 89 consolidations in February 2014 unless circumstances change in the interim, according to a news release.

“We revised our network consolidation timeline to provide a longer planning schedule for our customers, employees and other stakeholders, and to enable a more methodical and measured implementation,” said Patrick R. Donahoe, postmaster general and USPS CEO, in the release.

According to the release, the full range of consolidations would result in a reduction in the size of the USPS work force by roughly 13,000 employees and generate annual savings of about $1.2 billion.

“We simply do not have the mail volumes to justify the size and capacity of our current mail processing network. To return to long-term profitability and financial stability while keeping mail affordable, we must match our network to the anticipated workload,” Donahoe said in the release. “Our current plan meets our cost reduction goals, ensures seamless and excellent service performance throughout the implementation period, and provides adequate time for our customers to adapt to our network changes.”