GREENSBORO, NC — In a continuing effort to improve productivity and increase efficiency, the Postal Service will move mail processing and distribution operations from its Hickory Processing & Distribution Facility in Hickory to the Greensboro Processing & Distribution Center.

The transition is expected to be completed by February 2012. When completed, the Hickory facility will close. Postal officials said local service will not be affected by the move. Some affected career employees may be reassigned to the Greensboro facility or to other vacant positions.

"This consolidation will help keep mail processing costs down by using available capacity at the Greensboro plant and will contribute toward the Postal Service's goal of increasing efficiency and improving productivity," said District Manager Russell Gardner. "It was a difficult decision, but it makes good business sense to consolidate operations in order to remain viable and provide mail service to the nation. I am confident the transition will be smooth and transparent to our customers because of our excellent employees," Gardner added.

The consolidation will not cause any changes in local mail service. For business mailers, the Hickory P&DF Business Mail Entry Unit will be relocated to the Hickory Main Post Office, 231 Government Ave SW in Hickory.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 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. We’re everywhere so you can be anywhere: www.uspseverywhere.com. With 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 $67 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 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. 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 six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.