A Jackson Customer Service Mail Processing Center is one of the more than 250 United State Postal Service facilities slated to close nationwide as the mail service seeks to slash $3 billion from its budget.

The postal service announced today it intends to close 252 processing centers, seven in Michigan, including facilities in Jackson,

,

, Iron Mountain, Detroit and two in

.

If the announced closures, which are still subject to hearings and reviews, happen, mail in Michigan will go through two major processing centers in Pontiac and

. Changes will likely occur in March.

Statewide reaction

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In September, the postal service announced the

. The six other Michigan sites were also on the list. The studies involved a review of mail-processing and transportation operations in order to increase efficiency and improve productivity, according to previous reports.

When the list was announced in September, John Marcotte, president of the Michigan Postal Workers Union, said consolidation would affect daily mail service for people around the state. A letter sent within the city would take two days and out-of-state mail would take three, he said.

The cuts are part of $3 billion in reductions aimed at helping the agency avert bankruptcy next year. They would virtually eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day, a change in first-class delivery standards that have been in place since 1971.

The plan technically must await an advisory opinion from the independent Postal Regulatory Commission, slated for next March. But that opinion is nonbinding, and only substantial pressure from Congress, businesses or the public might deter far-reaching cuts.

At a news briefing in Washington, postal vice president David Williams said the post office needs to move quickly to cut costs as it seeks to stem five years of red ink amid steadily declining mail volume. After hitting 98 billion in 2006, first-class mail volume is now at less than 78 billion. It is projected to drop by roughly half by 2020.

The agency already has announced a 1-cent increase in first-class mail to 45 cents beginning Jan. 22.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.