Precision Castparts laying off 700-plus in Portland area

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Precision Castparts Corp., one of Oregon’s largest manufacturing firms, has notified the state it will lay off 717 workers at its two Portland-area facilities.

The company, which makes high-tech metal parts for the aerospace and medical industries, sent a letter detailing the layoffs  earlier this month that was made public on Friday, Willamette Week reported.

While the largest manufacturing layoff in the state’s database since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there are larger employers who have taken similar steps, the newspaper reported. The Oregon Clinic furloughed 820 workers in April, after the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District laid off 792 workers in March.

Precision Castparts attributed the layoffs to the impacts of COVID-19, which has crippled economies around the world and dealt a major blow to the commercial airline industry, a major end user of the metal parts Precision Castparts fabricates.

More than 486,000 Oregonians have lost their jobs since the pandemic began, according to the Oregon Employment Department.