U.S. Postal Services Announces Closure List

Editor's note: Updated at 12:30 p.m. with list of offices being examined in study.

In an effort to cut costs, the U.S. Postal Service is considering shutting down roughly 3,700 offices throughout the country.

The agency, which reportedly lost $8 billion last year, announced today its plans to launch a review of a number of local post offices for possible closure. Most of the office locations under consideration are in rural areas.

In a statement issued by the USPS today, the agency said:

" ... we are taking the next step in right-sizing our retail network by studying approximately 3,700 retail offices to determine customer needs. As part of this study, we are introducing a retail-replacement option –– Village Post Offices –– as an option for affected communities.

Village Post Offices would be operated by local businesses, such as pharmacies, grocery stores and other appropriate retailers, and would offer popular postal products and services such as stamps and flat-rate packaging."

A list of the locations under study nationwide can be viewed here: http://about.usps.com/news/electronic-press-kits/expandedaccess/study-list.htm#p=1

For the past several years, the post office has continued to struggle with the declining use of first-class mail as a result of the ever-growing dependence on the Internet to communicate and pay bills. Businesses have also also been less inclined to send advertising mail because of the recession, according to reports.

The cash-strapped agency has already made significant reductions to its staff and costs in recent years. It has also proposed shifting to mail delivery five-days-a-week.

The post office currently operates more than 31,000 local offices, branches and stations throughout the country -- down from 38,000 a decade ago. Long Beach os served by the Belmont Shore post office location at 5050 E. Second Street. But it is not on the list; the branch in North Long Beach and one inside the World Trade Center downtown are under closure review.