The financial institution will consolidate business operations across 13 metro areas.
Wells Fargo is the latest bank to pull out of its namesake downtown Portland office building.
The San Francisco-based financial institution will abandon its office in the Wells Fargo Tower at 1300 SW 5th Ave. — the tallest building in Portland — by the end of the year, and lay off hundreds at its Springfield and Hillsboro locations.
The Oregonian obtained all-staff emails from Wells Fargo executive Michael Grossberg who said the bank’s global operations business would leave Oregon by the end of 2025.
Employees will receive 60 days advance notice.
“These decisions were not made lightly,” Grossberg writes. “We understand the significant impact of these decisions on you and your families.”
Grossberg told staff the company wants to consolidate global operations to fewer locations. Business is now spread across 150 areas. In the future, Wells Fargo will concentrate in 13 geographic areas near major cities including San Francisco, Phoenix, Charlotte and New York City.
As of this week, the company employed more than 1,000 people in Oregon, where operations are focused primarily on customer service, collections, fraud prevention and back-office support, according to The O.
In the past two years, the company has laid off around 400 primarily call-center workers at its Hillsboro office.
Last month, in an update to staff, Grossberg said Wells Fargo will offer jobs in other states to Oregon employees if they are willing to move. He said some positions in Oregon might remain but did not offer specifics.
“We regularly review and adjust staffing levels to align with market conditions and the needs of our businesses,” Wells Fargo said in a written statement. “We work hard to identify opportunities for employees in other parts of the company so we can retain as many employees as possible. Where it’s not possible, we provide assistance, such as severance and career counseling.”
While overall unemployment in Oregon is at a historic low of around 4%, several major employers have laid off staff in light of shifting fortunes. Nike has committed to reducing its workforce by 15% and to date has cut more than 700 at its Beaverton headquarters. Hillsboro-based Intel eliminated 1,300 employees in Washington County on its way to cutting 15,000 worldwide. Major layoffs also hit Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University and Campbell Soup Company facilities in Tualatin.
Wells Fargo is not the first bank to leave downtown Portland, where the office rental vacancy rate is around one-third. U.S. Bank recently announced plans to leave the Big Pink office tower, formally known as the U.S. Bancorp Tower. In 2021, Umpqua Bank moved its administrative offices from its namesake downtown building to Lake Oswego. And Unitus Community Credit Union announced in 2022 it will move from Unitus Plaza to a new facility in Tigard, according to the Portland Business Journal.
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