Metro Atlanta mail processing centers to close

By Associated Press

For the AJC

U.S. Postal Service workers in several Georgia cities have been told that mail processing facilities where they work will close, and the work will be done elsewhere.

In north Georgia, officials say the changes mean that processing now being done in Acworth, Athens, Cartersville, Douglasville and Marietta will be shifted to Duluth, authorities said.

The number of employees at the facilities varies, U.S. Postal Service spokesman Michael Miles said. The Marietta facility, for instance, employs 31 people and the Athens center employs 18.

Miles says the north Georgia facilities would not close until after May 15.

He said the Postal Service is working with labor unions to find work for employees at the facilities that are scheduled to close.

"In some cases, employees who work in those facilities may be moved to the Duluth facility, or we will be looking to find work for them in other operations," Miles said.

The Savannah Morning News reports that Savannah's mail processing facility also will close.

Post offices and retail sites where people buy stamps and mail packages are not affected by the changes, Miles said.