Mail Processing Center Will Close

The Customer Service Mail Processing Center in is among the more than 200 mail processing facilities that face closure or consolidation.

The U.S. Postal Service announced Thursday the completion of the Area Mail Processing consolidation studies on 264 processing centers across the nation that started more than five months ago.

As a result of the studies, 223 facilities face closure or consolidation, while 35 locations remain open, and six are pending further study.

In north Georgia, the changes mean processing now done in Acworth, Athens, Cartersville, Douglasville and Marietta will be shifted to Duluth, according to a CBS story.

The number of employees at the centers varies, Postal Srrvice spokesman Michael Miles said. The Marietta facility employs 31 people. 

The move won't affect the , Miles said.

Mail processing centers deal with the behind-the-scenes operations. The Postal  Service suggests that cutting some satellite processing centers is a necessary step to help achieve profitability.

The Postal Service is in a financial crisis because of the recession, increased use of electronic communications, and obligations to pre-fund retiree health benefits.

In response to its lost revenue and a forecast $14.1 billion loss this year, the Postal Service developed a comprehensive plan to reduce operating costs by $20 billion by 2015, including such changes as closing mail processing centers.