USPS Envisions Hub Facilities in AMP Realignment
WASHINGTON, DC—The U.S. Postal Service is concluding the study of its Area Mail Processing (AMP) plant network, which it hopes to reduce from 461 facilities currently to fewer than 200 during the next few years, Post & Parcel reported, and the new-look AMP plant network could be fortified by "hub" facilities.
During the Mailers' Technical Advisory Committee meeting earlier this week, USPS executives said the surviving mail processing plants could be fortified by hundreds of smaller area hub facilities for more localized distribution of processed mail. The hubs could be set up in existing USPS sites—those with ancillary functions like business mail entry and retail facilities—or subcontracted out to distribution partners, Post & Parcel said.
The restructuring will save a projected $2.6 billion in annual operating costs, with closures to begin after May 15. An estimated 35,000 mail processing jobs will be lost, according to Post & Parcel.