Daimler Truck to End Portland Production by October, Cutting 375 Jobs After 84 Years
Updated
Updated · KATU · Jul 31
Daimler Truck to End Portland Production by October, Cutting 375 Jobs After 84 Years
3 articles · Updated · KATU · Jul 31
Summary
Daimler Truck North America will stop building trucks at its Swan Island plant by the end of October, ending 84 years of Freightliner production in Portland and eliminating about 375 positions.
The company said the work will shift to factories in the Carolinas after a broader review of its manufacturing network and long-term business needs, not because of any single EV policy, regulation or local condition.
More than 200 affected workers are union members, and IAM leaders say they were preparing for contract talks before abruptly pivoting to effects-bargaining over severance, benefits and job-transition support.
Portland will remain Daimler's North American headquarters and an engineering, testing and product-development hub; the company opened a new $40 million engineering facility on Swan Island just days before the shutdown announcement.
For Portland, the closure removes one of the city's last large union manufacturing employers even as Daimler keeps thousands of nonproduction jobs in the area.