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Postal Service Decides To Close Two Broward Mail Centers

PEMBROKE PINES (CBSMiami) - It's official. The US Postal Service will close two mail processing facilities in Broward County, and move that job to Miami's main mail processing center west of Miami International Airport. No jobs are expected to be lost, but postal officials say some employees may move, or might see their jobs change.

The processing centers to be closed are the Fort Lauderdale Processing and Distribution Center, 1900 W. Oakland Park Blvd, and the South Florida Processing and Distribution Center, 16000 Pines Blvd, Pembroke Pines.

The results of a study which led to the changes were announced Thursday, but no official date has been set for the closing of the facility. There is a moratorium on the closing of any postal facility through May 15th as efforts are made to find a plan to avoid closings.

Postal officials say there simply is not enough business in South Florida to justify so many mail processing facilities.

"The decision to consolidate mail processing facilities recognizes the urgent need to reduce the size of the national mail processing network to eliminate costly underutilized infrastructure," said Chief Operating Officer Megan Brennan. "Consolidating operations is necessary if the Postal Service is to remain viable to provide mail service to the nation."

The Postal Service has seen first class mail volume drop by 25% since 2006, and since it doesn't get tax money to help cover costs, as business declines so does the money it has to pay the bills.

Once the announcement is made about the closing date for a processing facility, employees will be told how it affects them.

"Employees could be moved to Miami where the mail would be processed," said Debra Fetterly, a spokesperson for the Postal Service in South Florida. "In some cases, impacted distribution clerks could transfer to letter carrier and/or other positions, some remaining in Broward County.

While the closings are aimed at cutting costs, the postal service does not plan to use staff cuts as part of that scenario.

"We do not anticipate anyone losing employment. They could be working a different postal position in another location in the South Florida area."

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