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USPS May Close 7 Mass. Facilities; 3,200 Jobs Could Be Lost

BOSTON (CBS) - Thousands of jobs are on the line as the Postal Service considers some drastic new cuts.

The USPS is already looking at closing post offices and cutting Saturday deliveries, but it's not going to be enough.

So now the agency wants to close processing facilities, including seven in Massachusetts.

WBZ-TV's Karen Anderson reports

The South Boston postal annex is one location that could be closed and that has workers and customers worried.

The Post Master General announced Thursday that he will be consolidating more than 250 mail processing facilities across the country like the one in South Boston as part of a plan to save the US Postal Service, which lost more than eight billion dollars last year.

More than 3,200 people's jobs could be affected from the cuts in Massachusetts. From Boston where there are 1,300 workers, to Shrewsbury's 500 workers, to Waltham with 400 jobs.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports

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One option is to consolidate the Boston facility with the one in North Andover and Waltham or consolidate North Reading and Waltham into Boston.

As for layoffs? The Post Master General can't fire union workers with six years experience under collective bargaining rights now, but he's is also asking Congress to change that rule, to deal with the reality of the way people communicate today.

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