Merrifield VA – In a continuing effort to improve productivity and increase efficiency, the Postal Service plans to move mail processing and distribution operations from Winchester Post Office to the Dulles Processing and Distribution Center. The transition will be completed by November 2009. Retail services in Winchester will remain unchanged.

Northern Virginia District Manager Michael Furey said, “As is the case with the Postal Service as a whole, the Winchester Post Office has been experiencing a decline in mail volume, and the Dulles Processing and Distribution Center has underutilized capacity.”

“This consolidation will contribute toward the Postal Service’s goal of increasing efficiency and improving productivity,” said Furey. “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 postal district,” Furey added.

Winchester Post Office’s Business Mail Entry Unit will remain open for large volume business mailers. Full retail services will still be available at Winchester Post Office.

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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.