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NEW ORLEANS -- The U.S. Postal Service plans to move the New Orleans mail-processing operation on Loyola Avenue to Baton Rouge, according to a statement from the USPS.
McKinney Boyd, a spokesman for the postal service, said that the closure of the processing operation on Loyola comes after a five-month study. The move comes as the postal service has seen a 25-percent decline in first-class mail since 2006.
"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 Megan Brennan, chief operating officer for the USPS.
"Consolidating operations is necessary if the Postal Service is to remain viable to provide mail service to the nation."
Once the transfer from New Orleans to Baton Rouge is complete, according to the statement, mail-processing operations on Loyola Avenue will cease. The USPS processing facility in Lafayette will cease processing outgoing mail as part of the consolidation effort, though the plant will continue to handle incoming mail.
The closure will only affect the sorting facility and not the retail center at Loyola Avenue. The main post office is a separate operation is expected to remain open.
Nearly 900 people work at the processing plant on Loyola. Workers are being notified of the closures. Many of the workers will be offered transfers to Baton Rouge or other post offices in the area.
Ted Patterson, the local Postal Workers Union president, had hoped to keep part of the facility open to sort either incoming or outgoing mail.
The closure is expected to take affect by mid-May. According to Boyd, implementation of the consolidation is contigent upon the outcome of pending rulemaking by Congress.
“I am gravely disappointed with the USPS announcement today. For months, we have been working with local, state, and federal officials to save the 880 good-paying jobs at the Loyola Avenue facility. We will continue to fight this ill-advised decision, which fails to consider all the factors that will impact future mail delivery costs and the needs of southern Louisiana," said Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
