[Update 5:15 p.m.] Hundreds of mail-handling facilities have been named in a shutdown list released Thursday by the U.S. Postal Service as the agency tries to cut massive red ink.

The potential closings are the latest chapter in a fundamental overhaul of the agency that may also mean closing thousands of smaller post offices across the country, and cuts in tens of thousands of Postal Service jobs in years to come.

It may also result in a slightly longer time for the delivery of first-class mail.

"It is no exaggeration to say that we are radically re-aligning the way that we process mail, the way that we deliver mail, and the way that we operate our retail network," Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe told reporters at a Thursday briefing.

The latest list targets 252 processing facilities and related "network transportation," as the Postal Service calls its distribution system, which now consists of 487 facilities.

"Our immediate goal is to reduce our total costs by $20 billion by 2015," Donahoe said, including $3 billion in anticipated savings from the facilities realignment announced Thursday.

[Original post] The U.S. Postal Service released a list of locations that will be studied in order to decide whether they will be closed or consolidated as the agency tries to cut massive red ink.

The potential closings are the latest chapter in a fundamental overhaul of the agency that may also mean closing thousands of smaller post offices across the country, and cuts in tens of thousands of Postal Service jobs in years to come.

The latest list targets nearly 250 processing facilities and related "network transportation," as the Postal Service calls its distribution system. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe planned a news conference Thursday to explain the changes.

"With the dramatic decline in mail volume and the resulting excess capacity, maintaining a vast national infrastructure is no longer realistic," Donahoe said ahead of the news conference.

The US Postal Service is considering outsourcing some of its basic services to some local town halls, mini-marts or malls. It opened its first so-called "village post offices" last month in tiny Malone, Washington.

With the proposed change, postal officials say customers can expect a first class letter to take two or three days, instead of the one-to-three day standard the existing delivery system was designed to meet.

The full list below in alphabetical order by state: