Oregon Transportation Crisis Deepens with Massive ODOT Layoffs
ODOT began significant layoffs Monday, cutting 483 jobs due to a failed legislative funding package. Portland transportation also faces layoffs, prompting urgent calls for solutions amid declining revenues.
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) began implementing significant layoffs Monday, with 483 positions eliminated as part of an anticipated total of 700 job cuts. This action comes after the state legislature failed to pass a crucial transportation funding package during its recent session.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek stated that these layoffs reflect an immediate and significant emergency for transportation services statewide, impacting essential functions that will ultimately affect all Oregonians. The layoffs resulted from declining gas tax revenues, driven by an increasing shift toward electric and hybrid vehicles, a critical issue the legislature's transportation funding package aimed to address but ultimately failed to resolve.
Millicent D. Williams, Director of the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), announced on Monday that her department would also lay off 50 employees by next week, underscoring the broader municipal impacts stemming from the legislature's failure. Portland's transportation committee has since passed a resolution urging city-level solutions to mitigate these budgetary shortfalls, including potentially raising fees for rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft.
Governor Kotek has tasked state officials, including DAS Director Betsy Imholt and Chief Financial Officer Kate Nass, with reviewing ODOT's reduction strategy alongside ODOT Director Kris Strickler. The governor emphasized the importance of balancing personnel costs against essential materials and service needs, especially heading into the critical summer and fall seasons.
While a second wave of layoffs is projected for early 2026 unless legislators act promptly, Kotek has not yet called a special legislative session. Portland officials, however, are urging the governor to convene lawmakers to find immediate solutions to avoid further damage to Oregon’s transportation infrastructure.
PBOT anticipated $11 million from the now-failed legislative package this year, with an additional $13 million expected in 2026. Without these funds, Williams warned that essential infrastructure repairs and safety improvements would be significantly delayed or indefinitely deferred.
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