From Staff Reports

The U.S. Postal Service announced Feb. 23 that it will close the Asheville mail processing center on Brevard Road sometime after mid-May, resulting in the loss of more than 200 local jobs and likely slower mail delivery.

The center’s employees were informed of the measure on the night of Feb. 22 and the morning of Feb. 23. 

A USPS study last fall proposed shutting down 252 processing centers — including the one in Asheville — and 3,700 post offices across the nation.

The city’s processing center, which began operations in 1979, employs 205 workers, of which 183 jobs will be shifted to a processing facilty in Greenville, S.C. The remaining 22 jobs will be eliminated.

The consolidation of Asheville and Greenville operations is expected to save $3.3 million per year, USPS officials said.

Average workers compensation at the Asheville plant, including benefits, is $72,000 annually.

First-class mail volume reportedly has dropped 25 percent over the past five years.