Timber was Oregon’s economic driver in 1974 when a computer chip company by the name of Intel started building facilities in Aloha and Hillsboro.

Then, as the logging industry started fleeing the state in the 1980s and ‘90s, officials hoped technology companies like Intel would emerge as Oregon’s next financial driver.

And it largely has. But mass layoffs at Intel’s Hillsboro campus this month are raising questions about the semiconductor industry’s dominance in Oregon.

Intel is shedding nearly 2,400 jobs in Washington County after reporting $19 billion in losses last year. And yet, experts who follow the industry expect the semiconductor sector to continue as a major pillar of Oregon’s economy, with Intel as an anchor.

But employment trends show the industry is slimming down.

“Looking over the last year, we can see that the semiconductor and electronic component manufacturing industry has been on the decline,” Gail Krumenauer, the employment economist for the state, told OPB. “Between May of 2024 and May of 2025, the industry lost almost 3,000 jobs. It’s down by 8% over the year — that’s a pretty significant decline for any one industry.”

Intel’s most recent layoffs are on top of 1,300 eliminated positions late last year. The company continues to be among Oregon’s largest private employers, but its total payroll has fallen in recent years from around 23,000 to now closer to 18,000. Oregon has a total workforce of about 2 million people.