EVERETT — The U.S. Postal Service announced Monday it no longer plans to close 600 postal branches, but the decision does not affect the Everett mail processing facility.
News about the fate of the Everett facility could be announced near the end of the week, said U.S. Postal Service spokesman Ernie Swanson.
While Swanson would not elaborate, he said the announcement could involve the mail processing facility’s future.
“It’s not over yet,” Swanson said.
The planned closure is important because nearly 100 people would lose their jobs. Since processing for most of the region would then take place in Seattle, the public would lose next-day delivery of first-class mail sent in Western Washington. The Everett postal facility serves communities from Lynnwood north to the Canadian border. Other mail processing facilities on the chopping block include those in Tacoma and Olympia.
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen said he still hopes that the Everett facility will stay open.
The Postal Service announced last year that it was looking to close up to 252 mail-processing centers and 3,700 post offices as part of a plan to save some $6.5 billion a year. None of the post offices slated for closure were located in Snohomish County.
The Postal Service began backing off last week, saying it no longer planned to close thousands of rural post offices but would keep them open with shorter hours. Monday’s announcement addressed 600 branches and satellite stations that had been included in the original study for closure and were expected to shut down sometime after Tuesday.
The Postal Service last week reported a quarterly loss of $3.2 billion and said without legislative action, it will be forced to default on more than $11 billion in health prepayments due to the Treasury this fall.
The Postal Service is an independent agency of government and does not receive tax money for its operations but is subject to congressional control over major aspects of its business.
The Associated Press and Herald reporter Debra Smith contributed to this story.
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