FILE - A Wells Fargo bank sign hangs outside a window on Jan. 13, 2021, in New York. Wells Fargo leaders informed Oregon officials Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, that next year’s office closures would impact hundreds in the Salem, Hillsboro and Portland areas.
Mark Lennihan / AP
Wells Fargo will soon lay off hundreds of employees in Hillsboro and Salem, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notices filed Wednesday.
In the two notices, the banking giant outlined its plans to lay off approximately 500 employees from its call center at 10500 NE Walker Road in Hillsboro and 221 employees from its office at 355 Hawthorne Ave. in Salem.
Wells Fargo is headquartered in San Francisco, but its global operations business has offices in Hillsboro, Portland and Salem. All of those sites are expected to shut down by the end of 2025, the company said in October. The news followed an earlier announcement that the bank plans to consolidate some of its operations.
“We continue to bring the majority of our non-customer facing positions together in locations best suited for our customers and our company,” said a Wells Fargo spokesperson in an email to OPB. “This effort does not impact our commitment to serving customers and clients; Bank branches and Wells Fargo Advisors branches will continue to meet customers' and clients' needs for the best service and advice.”
Wells Fargo has been slimming down its Oregon presence over the last couple years. The bank has laid off around 400 workers at its Hillsboro location since the start of 2023.
Other high-profile Oregon employers have also announced major layoffs in recent months. Chipmaker Intel will cut 1,300 workers in Hillsboro and Portland-based shoe giant Nike is slashing 700 workers from its headquarters near Beaverton.
State economists say Oregon’s labor market remains strong despite layoff announcements from anchor employers – although, job growth has slowed down this year. Still, the state labor market has over two million workers and for months Oregon’s unemployment rate has hovered at a historically low 4%.
Employees will receive 60 days advance notice.