Postal service to close "temporary" facility

Tampa, Florida — A mail center that processes handwirtten letters and poorly printed addresses will close next March, the U.S. Postal Service announced late Thursday night.

The Tampa Remote Encoding Center at 3501 Riga Blvd. opened in 1994 as a temporary facility. Employees manually translate addresses to a bar code.

"Ongoing capacity reviews, process improvements, and technological changes have enabled postal computers to read over 92 percent of the mail electronically," the Postal Service said.

Career craft employees will get at least six months notice of the closing and be offered reassignment, and temporary employees will be provided outplacement counseling that may include résumé and job placement assistance.