PORTLAND, Ore. — Layoffs are deepening at the Portland Bureau of Development Services as new construction slows throughout the city.
The bureau notified nine probationary employees last week they were being laid off and will leave the bureau by Nov. 15. This came after seven contract and temporary workers received the same news in October.
But on Wednesday, bureau leadership, including soon-to-retire Director Rebecca Esau, held a question-and-answer Zoom meeting where even deeper cuts came to light. In addition to the 16 previously disclosed cuts, the bureau will lay off another 56 workers, bringing the total affected to 72.
City spokesperson Ken Ray said the bureau anticipates telling the 56 affected workers after Thanksgiving. Their final days will vary based on factors such as seniority rights. But the layoffs will cut across management and non-management, unionized and non-represented workers, according to Ray.
Fees generated from permitting and related activity make up the bulk of BDS's funding. Yet high interest rates, tightening lending requirements, reductions in population and "general negative perceptions" of Portland are rattling development, according to Ray.
As a consequence, bureau officials have argued, BDS is drawing down its reserves at too quick a clip, hence the need to cut jobs. On Thursday, Ray reiterated that the bureau needed make reductions so its reserves could outlast an anticipated year-and-a-half downturn in development activity.
The 56 cuts represent approximately 15% of the bureau's workforce of about 378.
The Portland Business Journal, a news partner of KGW, has more on the layoffs and how it could affect customer service going forward.
