While the economy continues to struggle along the path of recovery, there is a careful balance of good news and bad news for the metropolitan area of Portland, OR—affectionately referred to as Silicon Forest. Direct electronic-based manufacturing hasn’t seen an incredible showing lately, but technology companies have seen some positive upswings that will result in more jobs.
The bad news: Lattice Semiconductor is planning on moving its Hillsboro headquarters to smaller offices due to general downsizing over the years that ultimately requires less space. While the company has reported no impending layoffs beyond the 109 jobs lost over the last year, the move is an alarming one that speaks to the 12 percent downturn in revenue for 2012 and the state of the industry.
The good news: Oracle plans to not only retain 300 jobs in Hillsboro, OR that had been considered for elimination but also intends to add another 130 positions as a result of some lucrative incentives offered by the state. These new workers will develop, manufacture, and assemble computer servers and will require a wide variety of skills from advanced technical degrees to the simple willingness to learn basic tasks with training.
The overall theme lately seems to show some decline of the semiconductor industry and the slow gain of other electronic-based services that yield a relatively flat trend.
Comments