Intel’s mass layoffs spark ‘shock’ and ‘concern’ among Washington County leaders

Washington County leaders are still coming to grips with the announcement Friday that its biggest corporate employer, Intel,

will lay off nearly 2,400 workers

as the faltering chipmaker responds to diminishing sales.

The loss of so many jobs at once is sure to have ripple effects on everything from the county’s housing market to its

school enrollment numbers

and the success of other local businesses that contract with Intel or serve their formerly well paid workers.

“I can only hope that those employees can continue to find gainful employment here in our state and will remain residents in our communities,” said Washington County Chair Kathryn Harrington, a former software products manager at the company.

Washington County Commissioner Nafisa Fai said she was “shocked” by Intel’s announcement, and she said she’s worried about the implications for the region’s

Metro Supportive Housing Services tax

, which draws funding from businesses and high-income households such as those that include Intel professionals.

Single people who earn more than $125,000 annually or couples who earn more than $200,000 are subject to the 1% tax on anything above those thresholds. Meanwhile, Oregon’s semiconductor industry that includes Intel pays workers average annual salaries of $180,000, according to state data.

“We need to have a county that’s thriving, and in order to have a county that’s thriving we need thriving people,” Fai said.

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Dist. 1, said she is “deeply disappointed” about Intel’s layoffs, which follow an

$8.5 billion federal subsidy

for Intel chip factories last year.

A robust semiconductor industry is “essential for national security,” she said in a written statement. “It is my sincere hope that the changes Intel is making will reverse the factors that led to layoffs and help them regain their standing,” she wrote.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan

said the layoffs are meant to trim Intel’s operations and spending as the company experiences a dramatic drop in its stock and sales due to outmatched technology from industry competitors.

The company’s largest site in Oregon, Hillsboro’s manufacturing campus, has been hit the hardest by local layoffs. So far this year, its site has lost 1,521 workers.

Hillsboro Mayor Beach Pace said losing those jobs will hurt the region as workers may need to move. She expressed “deep concern” for the workers and families affected by the layoffs.

“A lot of them are likely going to have to leave Oregon, which means that we lose our friends and neighbors, their talent, and we lose that tax base as well,” Pace said.

More

intel

• Intel bombshell: Chipmaker will lay off 2,400 Oregon workers

• Intel’s CEO: ‘We are not in the top 10’ of leading chip companies

• Intel will lay off 529 Oregon workers in initial cuts: Here are the positions being eliminated

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