Oregon’s Economy Is Breaking After Intel Cuts 5,000 Jobs

A devastating blow has struck Oregon’s local economy, particularly in Washington County, as Intel announces a staggering 5,000 job cuts.

Almost 3,000 layoff notices have been sent out to employees at Intel’s Hillsboro campus, which is a major hub for the company.

Intel is not just any company; it manufactures the brains of computers—the processors that power our devices.

With over 22,000 employees at its campuses in Washington County alone, these layoffs are set to have a profound impact on Oregon’s economy.

The loss of 5,000 jobs represents a significant 22% reduction in Intel’s workforce, and experts agree that no single company is more vital to any state’s economy than Intel is to Oregon.

Between August 2024 and November 2025, Intel has cut more than 5,000 positions across its four campuses in Washington County, marking one of the largest private sector job cuts in the state’s history.

As a result, Oregon’s unemployment rate has surged from 3.6% to 5.2%, and the state is now confronted with an uncomfortable truth: it has built too much of its economy around a single enтιтy.

Let’s break down what has transpired, why it matters, and what lies ahead.

Intel’s journey in Oregon began in 1974 when it broke ground on its first facility, followed by the opening of its manufacturing plant in Aloha in 1976.

The company strategically selected Washington County for its proximity to its Bay Area headquarters and access to abundant, affordable energy and water.

Over the past 50 years, Intel has grown to operate four major campuses in the Hillsboro area, with its flagship location, now called Gordon Moore Park at Ronler Acres, spanning nearly 500 acres.

This site houses the world’s first high NA EUV lithography tool, representing the pinnacle of semiconductor manufacturing technology.

The numbers tell the story of Intel’s dominance in Oregon: the company has invested over $65 billion in the state, with an annual payroll reaching $2.8 billion.

Intel’s employees earn an average salary between $172,000 and $186,000 per year, and the company spends over $4 billion annually with more than 500 Oregon suppliers.

Economic studies reveal that Intel contributes approximately $19 billion to Oregon’s GDP, accounting for roughly 8.7% of the state’s total economic output.

Most critically, for every 10 jobs at Intel, 31 additional jobs are supported throughout the economy.

At its peak employment of 23,000 workers, Intel supported over 105,000 indirect jobs across Oregon, including those in restaurants, retail stores, construction, and various service industries.

Mike Wilkerson, director of the economic consulting firm Econ Northwest, emphasized this point in September 2025, stating that Intel’s importance to Oregon’s economy is unparalleled.

This concentration of economic reliance is precisely what makes these layoffs so devastating.

Intel’s revenue has dramatically declined from $79 billion in 2021 to $53.1 billion in 2024, as the company fell behind its compeтιтors in manufacturing advanced chips and missed out on the artificial intelligence boom.

In the third quarter of 2024, Intel reported a staggering $16.6 billion loss, the largest quarterly deficit in the company’s 56-year history, culminating in nearly $19 billion in losses for the entire year.

On August 1, 2024, CEO Pat Gelsinger announced a global layoff of 15,000 employees, citing high costs and low margins as the driving factors for the decision.

He described the layoffs as the hardest decision of his career.

By December 2024, Gelsinger himself was replaced, as reports indicated that the board had lost confidence in his turnaround plan.

In March 2025, Lip Bhutan took over as the new CEO and signaled that more cuts were on the horizon, stating, “Our compeтιтors are lean, fast, and agile, and that’s what we must become.”

The layoffs rolled out in waves, documented through legally required WARN Act filings.

In October 2024, the first WARN notice was issued, resulting in 1,300 layoffs in Oregon.

Combined with voluntary departures, approximately 3,000 positions were eliminated by the end of that year.

The largest single wave of layoffs occurred in July 2025, initially announcing 529 layoffs, but that number quickly jumped to 2,392 just three days later.

Gordon Moore Park alone lost over 1,500 positions, while the Jones Farm campus lost more than 500, and the Aloha and Hawthorne Farm campuses saw hundreds more layoffs.

By November 2025, another 669 layoffs were confirmed, bringing the total number of job losses in Oregon to over 5,000 positions.

Intel’s workforce has now dropped from a peak of 23,000 to between 16,000 and 18,000 employees, marking a 22% reduction in just 18 months.

A critical detail to note is that none of the laid-off workers are represented by a union, leaving them without collective bargaining protections as they search for new employment opportunities.

The damage extends far beyond Intel’s gates.

Using Intel’s own multiplier data, which indicates that every 10 jobs support 31 additional jobs, the direct loss of 5,000 jobs could put an estimated 30,000 indirect jobs at risk throughout Oregon.

John Metsler, an economist from UC Berkeley, has estimated that Intel now supports roughly 75,000 indirect jobs, down from 105,000 at its peak.

State economist Gail Kruminau documented the impact, noting that between May 2024 and May 2025, semiconductor manufacturing lost almost 3,000 jobs, equating to an 8% decline.

As she remarked, “That’s a pretty significant decline for any one industry.”

Washington County Commission Chair Katherine Harrington, who worked at Intel from 1993 to 2004, explained in July 2025, “We are going to feel it here—not just in Washington County, but in all the Portland metro counties as well as in the state.”

To ᴀssist displaced workers, the federal government awarded a $2 million grant to Work Systems in January 2026 for career counseling, job search ᴀssistance, and training specifically aimed at former Intel employees.

Oregon had created the Strategic Investment Program in 1993 to attract Intel, providing 15-year property tax exemptions for companies investing at least $100 million.

The scale of these incentives is significant, with Intel saving over $780 million in property taxes through these agreements over five years.

The Hillsboro School District alone loses approximately $143 million annually, totaling more than $750 million since 2017.

While Washington County receives about $9 million annually through the gain share program, this is a fraction of what would be collected without the exemptions.

Defenders of the incentives argue that without them, Intel might have invested elsewhere.

Critics counter that communities have paid heavily for a company that is now cutting thousands of jobs.

Both perspectives hold merit, and the debate surrounding them will likely continue as Oregon evaluates how to attract major employers while safeguarding community interests.

Intel was also a major intended beneficiary of the CHIPS and Science Act, a 2022 law designed to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to America.

In August 2025, the federal government restructured Intel’s arrangement, converting approximately $8.9 billion into an equity stake, meaning the government now owns roughly $9.9 billion of Intel.

The Commerce Department stated that this provides Intel with a chance, though not a guarantee, of success.

Intel has also attracted private investment, including a $5 billion investment from Nvidia in late 2025, with the two companies collaborating on custom processors.

Currently, Intel’s Oregon workforce has stabilized at between 16,000 and 18,000 employees, and Oregon remains the company’s primary research and development hub, housing the most advanced semiconductor research equipment globally.

Financial results have shown mixed signals, with the third quarter of 2025 indicating some stabilization, as revenue increased by 3% with a 40% gross margin.

However, fourth-quarter results triggered a 17% drop in stock prices in January 2026, following weak guidance citing supply shortages and yield issues.

Analysts remain divided on Intel’s future, with price targets ranging from $14 to $62.

Key uncertainties include manufacturing yields, which are not expected to reach world-class levels until early 2027, and a lack of a clear strategy for competing in artificial intelligence markets.

Oregon didn’t just welcome Intel; it structured significant parts of its economy around the company.

Tax incentive programs were created specifically for Intel, and a skilled semiconductor workforce developed as a result.

Over 100,000 indirect jobs existed because Intel employees spent money throughout the region.

John Topagnia, an economist at Econ Northwest, captured the challenge succinctly: “Many of Oregon’s systems—our schools, regulations, land use rules, and permitting processes—were built for a different time to solve yesterday’s problems.”

While Intel is not leaving Oregon and continues to employ tens of thousands with world-class research facilities, it is no longer the guaranteed growth engine it once appeared to be.

With over 5,000 direct jobs lost, potentially 30,000 indirect jobs affected, rising unemployment, and a state forced to reckon with the implications of building so much around a single employer, the recent layoffs starkly illustrate the significance of Intel’s role in Oregon’s economy.

When economists ᴀssert that no company matters more to any state than Intel does to Oregon, these layoffs reveal exactly what that means.