Intel lost $11.4 billion in the first nine months of 2026, and Nike's annual profit dropped to nearly half its 2024 level. The financial struggles at Washington County's two biggest private employers land as voters across Oregon head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 3, with affordability topping their concerns.
Intel, Oregon's largest private employer, reported the $11.4 billion loss from January through September, according to OPB. The chipmaker is headquartered in California but centers its research and development in Hillsboro. The 2026 losses follow a $767 million loss in 2025 and a nearly $19 billion loss in 2024, OPB reported.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan told investors during an October earnings call that supply shortages kept the company from meeting demand in recent months, OPB reported. Tan said Intel is positioned to benefit from the growth of artificial intelligence in the coming years.
The company's Oregon workforce has been shrinking. Intel cut about 3,000 Oregon jobs in 2025 and another 3,000 the year before, The Oregonian reported in July, putting the headcount at around 16,000. OPB's Oct. 31 report cited a figure of around 18,000 workers, based on an August 2025 report. A state semiconductor industry report published in July placed the figure at roughly 18,000 as of November 2025.
Nike, the largest company based in Oregon, reported a $3.1 billion profit for its fiscal year ending in May 2026, OPB reported. That was down slightly from $3.2 billion the prior year. But the slide looks steeper against 2024, when Nike earned $5.7 billion.
Nike CEO Elliott Hill told investors in June that the company is operating in what he called a more complex environment with added pressure on consumer spending, OPB reported. Hill has cautioned investors that Nike's comeback won't be "linear," The Oregonian reported in April.
The sportswear company announced 1,400 layoffs in April 2026, mostly in operations and technology, The Oregonian reported. That marked the fourth consecutive year of significant layoffs at a company that historically rarely cut staff. Nike employs about 77,800 worldwide, including 10,500 at its headquarters near Beaverton, according to its most recent annual report cited by The Oregonian.
The layoffs at both companies have rippled through the Portland metro area's job market. Metro Portland ended 2025 with about 8,800 fewer jobs than it started, according to Oregon Department of Employment data cited by the City Observatory. Nike announced 740 layoffs and Intel 4,500 in 2025, and together those cuts equaled a majority of the region's job losses that year, City Observatory reported.
Oregon's unemployment rate sits at around 5%, above the national average and creeping upward, OPB reported. A poll commissioned by OPB found that Oregon voters say affordability is the biggest issue in Tuesday's election.
Both leading candidates for governor have made the cost of living a centerpiece of their campaigns. Gov. Tina Kotek's campaign website lists "make life more affordable" as a main plank, while Sen. Christine Drazan's site promises to "lower the cost of living," OPB reported.
A state report on Oregon's semiconductor industry, published in July, warned that the sector faces risks. The report, as covered by KOIN, stated that Oregon "is now at risk of becoming an insignificant stakeholder" in a global semiconductor industry projected to exceed $1 trillion in economic output by 2035.
Globally, Intel CEO Tan expects the company to have about 75,000 workers by the end of 2026, a 25% reduction from the end of 2025, OPB reported. What share of those cuts will fall on Washington County facilities remains a question local workers are weighing as they fill out their ballots.
