The U.S. Postal Service announced Thursday plans to close several mail processing centers around Illinois. The closure of a facility in west suburban Naperville could cost about 500 jobs. The post office also wants to close six other sorting centers downstate.

Spokesman Mark Reynolds said electronic communication is hurting post office profits.

“People are finding other ways to communicate besides First Class Mail,” Reynolds said. “That’s not to say they’re not using mail, and it’s not to say that mail has lost its volume. But we recognize that the future’s gonna look a lot different than what we’ve been used to.”

Reynolds said the closures should not affect mail delivery times. He said the USPS is still deciding whether to close more than a dozen post office branches around Chicago.