Postal Service to close Fayetteville, Kinston processing centers

The agency also plans to shut down a processing center in Kinston and shift those operations to Raleigh.

No date has been set for the transfers.

The two Fayetteville mail processing and distribution facilities employ more than 400 people combined.

"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,” Megan Brennan, the Postal Service's chief operating officer, said in a statement. “Consolidating operations is necessary if the Postal Service is to remain viable to provide mail service to the nation.”

A study found last year that the Postal Service could save nearly $22 million by closing its facility on Green Street and an annex on Downing Road in Fayetteville and shifting operations to a facility in Charlotte that has excess capacity. The move would improve efficiency and productivity, according to the study.

The Fayetteville and Kinston processing and distribution facilities are among 252 around the country that have been studied for closure. The Postal Service has 487 such operations nationwide.

Postal Service spokeswoman Monica Robbs said in December that many Fayetteville workers would have the opportunity to move to Charlotte, but more than 100 jobs would be eliminated in the consolidation.

It's unclear whether any Kinston employees will be offered jobs in Raleigh.