GREATER BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS — As a result of studies begun five months ago, the Postal Service has made the decision to move mail processing operations at various Processing and Distribution locations in the Greater Boston Postal District.

These Greater Boston Postal District mail processing operations will be impacted as follows:

• Wareham Processing and Distribution Center: mail processing operations will be moved to the Providence, RI Processing and Distribution Center (the Wareham Post Office which includes the retail operation and delivery unit will remain at its present location)

• Northwest-Boston Processing and Distribution Center in Waltham, MA: mail processing operations will be moved and split between the Boston Processing and Distribution Center and the Middlesex-Essex Processing and Distribution Center in North Reading, MA

• Central MA Processing and Distribution Center in Shrewsbury, MA: mail processing operations will be split between the Boston Processing and Distribution Center and the Middlesex-Essex Processing and Distribution Center in North Reading, MA

• Middlesex-Essex Processing and Distribution Center in North Reading, MA: certain mail processing operations will be moved to the Boston Processing and Distribution Center

In addition, the Postal Service has announced the study of the Brockton Processing and Distribution Facility will continue and the Brockton AMP study has been expanded to include a possible shift in mail processing operations to the Boston Processing and Distribution Center

The Postal Service has experienced a 25 percent decline in First-Class Mail volume since 2006, and receives no tax dollars for its operations, relying instead on the sale of postage, and postal products and services.

“The decision to consolidate mail processing facilities recognizes the urgent need to reduce the size of the national mail processing network to eliminate costly underutilized infrastructure,” said Chief Operating Officer Megan Brennan. “Consolidating operations is necessary if the Postal Service is to remain viable to provide mail service to the nation.”

Specific dates have not been set for the transition. Until a specific date has been announced, residential and business mailers will continue to be served through the current facilities.

In December 2011, the Postal Service agreed to impose a moratorium on closing or consolidating post offices and mail processing facilities prior to May 15, 2012, to give Congress and the Administration the opportunity to enact an alternative plan.

This delay was designed to allow Congress sufficient time to enact comprehensive postal legislation. In the meantime, the Postal Service continued all necessary steps required for the review of these facilities, including public notifications, public input meetings and consideration of public comments.

Implementation of this consolidation is contingent upon the outcome of pending rulemaking for a proposal to revise existing service standards. This announcement is provided in advance so that appropriate planning and notification can be made in accordance with existing employee agreements.

A list of mail processing studies and their status is available at usps.com/ourfuturenetwork. Specific information about individual studies, including public meeting summaries and summary briefs, is posted on the website, usps.com/areamailprocessing, as it becomes available.

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A list of processing facilities studied, FAQs, mail processing b-roll, and additional information can be found at usps.com/ourfuturenetwork.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With nearly 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service was ranked number one in overall service performance, out of the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world, Oxford Strategic Consulting. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.