UPDATE: Portion of Eatontown Postal Facility Will Close in May

A portion of the Monmouth Processing and Distribution Center, at 307 Industrial Way West in Eatontown, will close in May, according to the United States Postal Service (USPS).

USPS Spokesman Ray Daiutolo said all mail processing operations will be moved to the Trenton Mail Processing and Distribution Center by May 15.

However, the business/bulk mail entry at the Eatontown facility will remain open "for now," according to Daiutolo.

"In December 2011, the Postal Service agreed to impose a moratorium on closing or consolidating post offices and mail processing facilities prior to May 15, 2012, to give Congress and the Administration the opportunity to enact an alternative plan," a release from the USPS states.

"This delay was designed to allow Congress sufficient time to enact comprehensive postal legislation," the release continues. "In the meantime, the Postal Service continued all necessary steps required for the review of these facilities, including public notifications, public input meetings and consideration of public comments."

Daiutolo said the decision was reached in February after months of studies by the USPS.

Closing the facility will result in cause some employees to take on new jobs  and transplanted to a new facility, most like the Trenton location.

Daiutolo said repositioning will be handled according to the employees' union agreements.

"There is language in there that stipulates how reassignments are handled for career employees," he said.

The Eatontown facility currently has 225 employees, including temporary and non-temporary positions.

Daiutolo said the consolidation of the facilities was a financial decision for the USPS.

"It will help us save money," he said. "Our financial situation is dire."

"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," said Chief Operating Officer Megan Brennan. "Consolidating operations is necessary if the Postal Service is to remain viable to provide mail service to the nation."

Daiutolo said the increased use of e-mail, text messaging and other forms of communication have contributed to a decrease in mail usage. He said the there 165 billion pieces of mail delivered nationally in 2011, compared to 213 billion in 2006.

Daiutolo said local customers' mail delivery should not be impacted by the change.

One change that all USPS customers will notice in the future, however, is first-class mail standards.

"We want to start to relax the overnight expectation for a first class letter," he said. "I expect that this determination will be reached in the spring."

Daiutolo said the current service standard for single piece of first-class mail is one to three days, depending on the location the piece is mailed from and the location it is going to.

If the change occurs, the service standard for single piece first-class mail would be two to three days. 

"For most people, this change would be imperceptible," Daiutolo said. "Mail going out of the local geographical area will not be affected."