My daughter works for the encoding center and told me about this awhile back. Her center just got rid off 400 people. Part of the problem is people retiring. You can retire after 20 years from the postal service so there are people retiring in their 40's and pulling retirement checks for 30 and 40 years. They have to make a change somewhere to meet this demand. They want to raise the price of stamps and the public goes bonkers when they do that so this is the alternative. And yes, technology is hugely responsible. I always feel bad when I choose to go "paperless". Helps the environment but costs jobs. What to do?