USPS Downsizing, May Eliminate 252 Facilities

According to a CoStar report, the U.S. Postal Service is planning to move forward with its proposal to change service standards and massive cuts to its real estate footprint, which may include eliminating 252 out of its 487 mail processing facilities.

"The U.S. Postal Service must reduce its operating costs by $20 billion by 2015 in order to return to profitability," said David Williams, vice president, Network Operations. "The proposed changes to service standards will allow for significant consolidation of the postal network in terms of facilities, processing equipment, vehicles and employee workforce and will generate projected net annual savings of approximately $2.1 billion."

In a presentation delivered at a media roundtable organized by the International Post Corporation during the COP 17 climate conference in Durban, South Africa, U.S. Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe spoke about the future of the U.S. Postal Service and made the business case to go green. "Leaner, greener, faster and smarter is our sustainability call to action," said Donahoe. "It's environmentally responsible, as well as a very good business decision."

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GM Investing $2B in US Facilities

General Motors Co. announced this week that it will be investing roughly $2 billion in 17 facilities across the U.S., preserving more than 4,000 jobs according to a Los Angeles Times article. The announcement comes after the company announced its fifth straight quarterly profit since emerging from bankruptcy.

"We are doing this because we are confident about demand for our vehicles and the economy," GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said during an event at the 54-year-old Toledo Transmission Plant. "This new investment is on top of $3.4 billion and more than 9,000 jobs that GM has added or saved since mid-2009."

Over the next few months, GM will make specific facility investment announcements dependent on successful completion of state and local incentives in some communities. According to the nonprofit Center for Automotive Research, the ripple effect of the planned investments would add almost $2.9 billion to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product and create or retain more than 28,000 jobs.

GM spokeswoman Kimberly Carpenter said the company has about 1,300 laid off workers waiting to be recalled in the U.S. GM expects to recall all of them by the end of the year and already is adding workers at factories in Flint, Mich., Orion Township, Mich., and Delta Township, Mich., near Lansing.

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