To cut costs, the U.S. Postal Service during the past few months listed 413 branches that may close, including two in Fort Wayne.

On Friday, there will be a new list released by the government agency that contains a smaller number of branches still subject to consolidation. In April, the postal service announced it would close the Fort Wayne remote encoding center, eliminating 151 full-time and 264 part-time jobs.

Greg Frey, a USPS spokesman, said deciding which post offices will close depends on a number of factors.

“We look at not only the number of customers, but also the proximity to other offices, and which are underutilized in terms of delivery operations and outgoing mail,” Frey said. Before any branch can be closed, the postal service will have a community meeting or distribute a public survey before a decision is reached.

If an office is chosen to be consolidated, a window of closure of at least 60 days will be given for people in that area to relocate to another office, and for employees to be notified of the consolidation.

Reductions are based on the assumption that the USPS will not change the number of delivery days from the current six per week, and will not change the retiree health benefits payment schedule. The Postal Service also doesn't plan to raise prices on first-class mail, standard mail and other products.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Because of the economic recession and the increasing move to electronic alternatives, it reported a net loss of $3.8 billion for the 2009 fiscal year. That follows a $2.8 billion loss for 2008. It has also experienced a 12.7 percent decline in the number of pieces of mail, down to 177.1 billion pieces. Cost savings for next year will show a reduction of 40,000 employees as well as reductions in overtime hours, transportation and other costs with the closing of various branches throughout the U.S.

A 2010 estimate shows a net loss of $7.8 billion, cost reductions of more than $3.5 billion and a reduction in mail volume of 11 billion pieces of mail for the year.