By Ardeshir Tabrizian Salem Reporter
Wells Fargo Bank alerted the state on Tuesday, Dec. 3, that it will close its Salem corporate office and lay off 221 workers, one of the largest local business layoffs in recent Salem history.
The company notified employees of their impending layoffs the same day and expects to give formal notices of displacement in the fourth quarter of 2025, it said in a letter to the city of Salem and state Office of Workforce Investments.
Employees will have 60 days notice of their layoff, according to the letter.
The layoffs do not affect Wells Fargo bank branches in Salem and only impact the Chief Operating Office Global Operations business unit at 355 Hawthorne Ave S.E. The closure and layoffs were first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Salem Mayor Chris Hoy said he was made aware of the layoffs Tuesday night.
“It’s unfortunate for the employees, their families and for our community, and to happen around the holidays makes it feel particularly heartless,” Hoy said in a statement. “Sadly, Corporate America cares about the bottom line and not the common good. Thankfully, Salem continues to see significant economic investment. My hope is that from that perspective, this is a blip on the radar.”
Wells Fargo also announced its intent to lay off around 500 workers at its William Barnhart Center in Hillsboro.
Both notices said that impacted employees who don’t relocate or secure other jobs in the company will be eligible for paid severance benefits based on years of service and can continue participating in its health plans “at active rates for a period of time.”
Wells Fargo spokesman Tyler Hersko didn’t address questions including how long that health plan period would last or how many employees it would allow to move to another job in the company. He also did not answer questions about what prompted the closure of the Salem office.
“We continue to bring the majority of our noncustomer facing positions together in locations best suited for our customers and our company,” Hersko said in an email to Salem Reporter.
Wells Fargo said in its notices that it will disclose specific job titles, notice dates and number of displaced employees after giving official written notices of layoffs.
“Wells Fargo is committed to supporting our displaced employees and provides severance, career assistance, and other services to assist them. We will make every effort to minimize the impact and ease the transition for our affected employees,” the company said in the notices.
Tom Hoffert, CEO of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, called the layoffs discouraging in an emailed statement to Salem Reporter. He said that he’s been told that centers around Wells Fargo’s national challenges in commercial real estate and lending.
“At the local level, while there have certainly been a few substantial commercial projects occurring in Salem, a number of state and federal agencies remain with large portions of their workforces conducting their duties from home. This leaves buildings empty, awaiting their future, with great uncertainty,” he said.
Curt Arthur, director of SVN Commercial Advisors in Salem, said that Wells Fargo has decreased its lending presence outside of major U.S. metropolitan markets.
“Unless you’re in the top 50 market, it’s just not an area that they’re doing business in. They let us know here, just in the last 12 months, that they’re done lending basically outside the Portland area. To my knowledge, they’ve not had a commercial loan officer in Salem in at least three years,” he said.
He said the announcement didn’t surprise him.
“It’s a sad thing for the job market in Salem, but there’s, I think, a lot of positive things in the future of what will be built here in Salem, especially out in Mill Creek. Fingers crossed that there will be jobs for those folks,” Arthur said.
The layoff announcement will send dozens of families looking for new employment during the holiday season.
“Salem is a small business town, and there’s lots of small businesses that are looking for good people. I believe that they will get absorbed into our job market, depending on what their qualifications are,” TJ Sullivan, president of the Salem Main Street Association, said.
For those impacted, he suggested connecting with Chemeketa Community College’s community employment resources which has job training support, and that many local churches have emergency support funds for those in need.
Kim Parker-Llerenas, executive director of Willamette Workforce Partnership, said her agency has reached out to the company Wednesday after learning of the layoff. The organization helps people apply for unemployment, find health insurance and build resumes to secure new jobs.
Since employees will have almost a year to prepare for the layoff, Parker-Llerenas said she expects a smaller financial impact on the Salem area. She also said that the low unemployment rate, currently at 4% in Oregon, also helps lessen the stress of layoffs as there are more jobs available.
“I’m not panicked,” she said.
Kristin Retherford, director of community planning and development for the city of Salem, said Salem has experienced job growth in the Mill Creek Corporate Center in recent years with Amazon, Dollar General, Gensco and others coming to town. She called the Wells Fargo closure “very unfortunate” and said it is the city’s hope that those who lost their job are able to find new employment in the community.
“Our hearts go out to the 221 employees and community members who will be impacted by this closure,” she said.
This layoff is one of the largest in Salem over the past five years. In 2019, 900 local workers lost their jobs when NORPAC closed its Salem processing plant.
The Grand Hotel and Salem Convention Center let 227 people go at the start of the Covid pandemic.
This spring, Vitrio Architectural Glass closed its south Salem plant, laying off 37 workers.
Reporters Joe Siess, Abbey McDonald and Madeleine Moore contributed reporting.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: ardeshir@salemreporter.com or 503-929-3053.
