Duluth, GA – In a continuing effort to improve productivity and increase efficiency, the Postal Service plans to move some mail processing and distribution operations from the Athens Customer Service Mail Processing Center (CSMPC) to the North Metro Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC), in Duluth. The transition will begin on August 17, 2009, and be completed by March 31, 2010. This consolidation affects mail processing operations only. Retail services at the facility will remain unchanged.

Postal officials said local service will not be affected by the move. Some affected career employees may be reassigned to the North Metro P&DC or to other vacant positions.

Atlanta District Manager Kate F. Wiley said, “As is the case with the Postal Service as a whole, the Athens facility has been experiencing a decline in mail volume, and the North Metro Facility has underutilized capacity. This consolidation will contribute toward the Postal Service’s goal of increasing efficiency and improving productivity.”

“The move makes sense. Optimizing our processing network like this will help the Postal Service keep the cost of postage affordable for all Americans. I am confident the transition will be smooth and transparent to our customers because of our excellent employees in this district.”

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.