U.S. Postal Service To Cut Hours, Instead Of Closing Post Offices

Last updated on Friday, May 18, 2012

(UNDATED) - Seven months after the U.S. Postal Service went from town to town to retrieve feedback on the closing plans, it has come up with a new cost-saving measure that would save the nearly 4,000 post offices that were on the list by cutting operating hours, instead of closing the centers.

The new strategy would keep the existing post offices in place, but would modify the retail window hours to match customer use. Access to the retail lobby and post office boxes would remain unchanged.

Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe says they listened to customers in rural America and heard them loud and clear. He says the announcement will serve customers and achieve savings to help the postal service return to long-term financial stability.

The new strategy would not be completed until September 2014. Once the plan is complete, the postal service estimates saving a half billion dollars annually. The U.S. Postal Service lost $3.2 billion in the first three months of this year. Mail volume dropped 4 percent.

The new strategy - aimed at helping reduce those losses - must be approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission before it's implemented.

The new proposal would affect seven post offices in Lawrence County:

Avoca, eight hours a day down to four
Huron, eight hours a day down to two
Heltonville, eight hours a day down to four
Oolitic, eight hours a day down to four
Springville, eight hours a day down to six
Tunnelton, four hours a day down to two
Williams, eight hours a day down to four

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