Big shift in volume from letters to packages means more Bend mail to be processed in Portland

Process begun several years ago to finish this year; USPS promises no layoffs or delivery delays

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – The U.S. Postal Service says it will move the rest of Bend’s letter-mail processing to Portland, a shift begun several years ago, as it embarks on a new 10-year plan to stem losses and become financially sustainable. Instead, the Bend facility will be reworked to sort more packages, which has become a much larger part of the mail flow in recent years.

The Bend post office’s Customer Service Mail Processing Center is one of 18 facilities around the country where “optimization and efficiency efforts paused in 2015” will resume and move the rest of that work, in Bend's case to the Portland Processing & Distribution Center, according to a recent announcement. It said all the shifts will be completed by November.

"Due to the decline in mail volume, USPS will relocate or remove unnecessary letter and flat sorting equipment as appropriate to make space for much-needed package processing," the announcement said.

“It’s no secret the Postal Service is facing financial difficulties,” Kim Frum, senior public relations representative with the USPS, told NewsChannel 21 on Friday.

“The investment for the mail moves is one piece of the 10-year plan to achieve financial sustainability and service excellence," she said. “These operational mail moves are part of our 10-Year Plan, which also includes $20 billion to invest in new equipment and facilities and expand space-constrained facilities to improve package processing operations.”

Frum stressed that the April 27 announcement listing the Bend post office “does not mean facility closures, and there are no layoffs associated with (it).” Officials also said the changes should not mean a Bend letter sent across town or the country takes any longer than it does now.

Here’s the rest of Frum's statement:

“To avoid adverse impacts on service performance for letters and flats, data-driven analytics will inform the optimal configuration of sorting equipment, staff realignments, and adjustments of processing operations. Moving, removing, and repurposing mail processing equipment and operations or 'operational mail moves' is an ongoing Postal Service strategy dating back decades that allows for more efficient, timely delivery of mail and packages.

“To help with a bit more clarification, let’s say there are two processing facilities near one another, and they both process letters and packages. Letter mail is declining, and package volumes are increasing. It makes good business sense to realign the mail processing operations from multiple facilities into one facility and provide expanded package sorting capabilities. By centralizing these operations, the Postal Service improves efficiency and service reliability for its customers.

“The Bend location is one of 18 facilities we will look to repurpose for package processing, given the increase in package volume. More information on facilities and a fact sheet can be found under the Mail Processing Operations – April 2021 supplemental downloads section of our Delivering for America website.

“Employee impacts resulting from these operational changes will be handled in accordance with our negotiated contract provisions, and these impacts will not result in employee layoffs. These mail moves will require that we will allocate more staff to support package processing, given the increase in package volume, and allocate fewer staff to mail processing, given the large decline in mail. To the extent needed, training will be provided to reassigned bargaining unit employees.”

Last year, the Postal Service saw a record 40 percent jump in package volume, including more than double the number of oversize packages.