FAYETTEVILLE — The U.S. Postal Service announced Thursday it will keep Fayetteville’s mail processing center open and merge some postal operations from Harrison into it.
The move will expand the number of postal jobs at the Fayetteville center, which the service in December targeted to close and consolidate with a Little Rock facility.
At that time, postal officials said a study had determined the consolidation could save the agency about $5.9 million a year.
On Thursday, the agency said in a news release additional study determined “there was no significant opportunity to improve efficiency or service” by closing Fayetteville’s operation.
At a Glance
U.S. Postal Service
• Delivers to more than 150 million addresses each day.
• Lost $3.3 billion last quarter.
• Studied 264 processing facilities for possible consolidation. Six facilities are on hold for further internal study, 35 will remain open and 223 will be consolidated — all or in part.
• Network consolidation would reduce operating costs by $2.6 billion annually and result in a net savings of $2.1 billion.
• Consolidation is part of an across-the-board plan to reduce costs by $20 million by 2015.
• Projects cutting 30,000 full-time and 5,000 part-time positions.
Source: U.S. Postal Service
The agency had previously approved moving Fort Smith’s mail sorting operations to Fayetteville, but all consolidations in December were put on hold until May to give Congress a chance to pass postal reforms that could affect the plans.
All of the job moves involved in the Fayetteville decision won’t happen until after May 15, when that moratorium is lifted, said Leisa Tolliver-Gay, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service in Little Rock.
Steve Clark, president of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, credited Mayor Lioneld Jordan and 3rd District Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, for their work on the matter, as well as residents who spoke against closing Fayetteville’s facility.
“We had a public meeting and there were some really well-spoken and well-informed individuals,” Clark said. “They asked why you would close a post office in a growing, thriving area. Obviously, they listened.”
Web Watch
Studies, Updates
A list of mail processing studies and their status and specific information abut individual sites is available at usps.com/ourfuturenetwork.
Womack said he was pleased with the decision to keep the processing facility in Fayetteville.
“I want to commend the Postal Service for doing the right thing,” he said. “As I have said all along, I appreciate and understand the need to find efficiencies. As I told the Postal Service, it didn’t make sense to move a sorting operation out of a major growth area in Arkansas.”
According to the agency study, six positions from the Harrison center and 35 positions from the Fort Smith facility will move to Fayetteville.
“We’re incredibly excited,” Clark said. “Not only are we not going to lose jobs in our area, but we may have a few vacant positions available.”
The consolidation means about half of the positions filled at each facility will be cut, saving about $2 million.
The debate over the closings is part of the agency’s effort to reduce operating costs in the face of declining mail volume.
Tolliver-Gay said she doesn’t know when the two processing operations will move to Fayetteville or how many jobs it will create.
She said the number of employees who move will depend on a collective bargaining process, which consists of negotiation between union representatives and employers regarding the terms and conditions of employment.
“There may be some positions that become available as we move people over,” she said. “There may be vacancies that they withheld. There’s all kinds of scenarios. Right now, we don’t have a number.”
The processing facilities in Arkansas are among 490 centers considered for closing.
Jordan said Fayetteville residents can expect to receive the level of service they deserve.
“This shows what you can do when you have everyone working together for a common goal,” he said. “I’m thrilled that we’re keeping the processing center in Fayetteville. This will maintain the level of service we deserve as one of the fastest-growing areas not only in the state, but in the nation.”