Intel is laying off 784 workers in Oregon as part of its bigger move to cut 12,000 jobs by year's end. The company informed the state of its intentions to layoff the workers .
The job cuts began this week. Intel says it plans to notify all affected employees by April 29 and their last day of work will be May 31. In a letter to the state, the company said it will provide the workers with three months of COBRA health care premiums and six additional weeks of pay as severance. The layoffs will be in four locations in Hillsboro and two in Aloha.
Mike Rogoway, a business reporter with The Oregonian, told OPB All Things Considered host Kate Davidson that more cuts in Oregon are likely to come.
"There will be more cuts in Oregon but probably not more layoffs, at least not directly related to this," he said.
Rogoway said company wide about one-third of the job cuts are expected to come from layoffs, and the rest are likely to come from a combination of buyouts, early retirements, project cancellations and site closures. "... Intel hasn't said how many jobs it expects to reduce in Oregon specifically, but if we multiply this out it's probably somewhere in the ballpark of 2,000."
Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey said in a statement said his city would continue do what it can to support the company.
“We understand how difficult this decision is for all parties,” he said. “We are hopeful that Intel’s decision to restructure its organization to position itself for future success will ultimately lead to additional investment and employment opportunities here in Hillsboro and Washington County.”
The Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker is the largest private employee in Oregon with more than 19,000 employees.
Intel also plans to close a facility near Olympia that employs roughly 350 workers.
The company announced the global layoffs last week as part of plans to restructure in the face of declining personal computer sales.
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