WASHINGTON — With no signs of economic recovery in sight, the U.S. Postal Service is taking bold actions in response to its ongoing financial crisis. Today the Postal Service announced it would be closing six of its 80 district offices, eliminating positions across the country and offering another early retirement opportunity. These actions are expected to save the Postal Service more than $100 million annually.

The six offices closing — located in Lake Mary, FL; North Reading, MA; Manchester, NH; Edison, NJ; Erie, PA, and Spokane, WA — house only administrative functions and will not adversely affect customer service, mail delivery, Post Office operations or ZIP Codes. The functions of these six offices will be assumed by 10 district offices within close proximity.

Additionally, administrative staff positions at the district level nationwide are being reduced by 15 percent. More than 1,400 mail processing supervisor and management positions at nearly 400 facilities around the country also are being eliminated and nearly 150,000 employees nationwide are being given the opportunity to take an early retirement.

In the past year the Postal Service has taken very aggressive cost-cutting actions, including:

    * Cutting 50 million workhours;
    * Halting construction of new postal facilities;
    * Negotiating an agreement with the National Association of Letter Carriers that adjusts letter carrier routes to reflect diminished volume;
    * Freezing salaries of all Postal Service officers and executives;
    * Instituting a nationwide hiring freeze;
    * Reducing authorized staffing levels at postal headquarters and area offices by at least 15 percent;
    * Selling unused and under-utilized postal facilities;
    * Adjusting Post Office hours to better reflect customer use; and,
    * Consolidating mail processing operations.

The Postal Service is streamlining operations and improving efficiencies across the board in order to protect its ability to provide affordable, universal mail service. By modifying networks, consolidating functions and restructuring administrative and processing operations, the Postal Service is adapting to meet the evolving needs, demands and activities of its customers.