KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The United States Postal Service has announced that several local mail processing operations will continue at the Knoxville postal facility, thanks to a proposed operational strategy that will save USPS an annual $3 billion nationwide.
The $3 billion in savings will allow the postal service to absorb the cost of local cancellation services in Knoxville, preventing the need to relocate local mail processing operations outside of the city's facility, according to USPS.
This announcement comes after the movement of processing operations was paused back in May following a proposed change that would move several operations outside of Knoxville. Representative Tim Burchett has been advocating for the service to take care of East Tennessee residents.
In December 2023, he and his staff held a meeting and sent a letter to the United States Postmaster General Louis Dejoy regarding the future of Knoxville's USPS Processing and Distribution Center. A few months later, operations were paused.
"I am glad Postmaster General DeJoy is listening to constituents’ and lawmakers’ concerns about these moves. I hope he takes this extra time to consider the best moves for East Tennessee and other districts affected by these moves.” Burchett said in an earlier statement.
In addition to continuing mail operations, USPS has also announced that a current Knoxville facility will become a local processing facility and will be expected to offer express services and accept bulk and permit mail.
"This investment goes beyond just enhancing the work environment for our employees," DeJoy said. "It's about equipping the facility with the necessary technology and resources to deliver top-notch service to the local community for the foreseeable future."
The postal service said it'll host a pre-filing conference to discuss its improvement plans for mail processing and transportation, as well as how improvements align with existing service standards. Any new changes will not be implemented until after this year's election and peak service seasons.
USPS says it will consider the commentary received from its previous virtual conference and the Postal Regulatory Commission before finalizing its decision.