Postal Service eyes Atlanta consolidations

By Michelle E. Shaw

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Postal Service is considering shifting work from its Forest Park mail processing center to Duluth and consolidating post offices, part of an effort to cut costs and boost efficiency.

A two-month study of the Atlanta Processing and Distribution Center in Forest Park began this week , said spokesman Michael Miles. The study will help determine if any changes are made, he said.

"This study will not affect the retail side of our operation at all," he said.

If changes are made that affect any of the 1,383 employees at the Forest Park facility, they would be reassigned to the North Metro center or to other vacant positions, he added.

"The reality is we have an excess of equipment, staff and facilities to process a declining volume of mail," John H. McCormack, postmaster for greater Atlanta, wrote in a letter. "Consolidating some postal operations only makes logical business sense given the economic realities."

Earlier this year, postal officials announced some mail processing and distribution operations at the Athens Customer Service Mail Processing Center would move to the North Metro location  in Duluth. The transition began this summer and is expected to be complete by April 2010.

As of Friday, 13 Atlanta area post offices were under consideration for possible consolidation, according to a news release. A review of branches and stations began this summer, part of an examination of some 3,600 locations across the country, the release said. Of those, 371 are still being considered for consolidation including the Atlanta locations.