Category ECONOMY

Wells Fargo to lay off 221 workers in Salem office
Wells Fargo notified state officials on Tuesday that it will close its office in southeast Salem and lay off 221 workers by late 2025. The move comes as the bank has increasingly focused its commercial real estate businesses on larger cities.

Salem’s first year of commercial air service brought $19 million to local economy, consultant says
Salem's first year of commercial air service brought roughly 55,000 passengers to Salem. But the city lost about $480,000 on airport operations because of increased staffing required.

Bird flu is racing through farms, but Northwest states are rarely testing workers
Farmworker advocates and health experts say more robust monitoring is needed to prevent the spread of bird flu.

Future electricians get a new training home in north Salem
This fall, the Independent Electrical Contractors of Oregon opened a new training center to house their residential electrician apprenticeship programs, which includes twice as much lab space for hands-on practice.

New Oregon economic forecaster predicts higher revenue, higher kicker
Oregon’s new chief economist estimates the state will have about $37.8 billion available to spend in the next two-year budget cycle after reworking how the state calculates its economic forecast.

Cooke Stationery building sold to Salem developer for remodel
Salem apartment developer Kevin Harrison has bought the historic Cooke’s Stationary building and is renovating the vacant upstairs into four apartments. The State Street retail front is available for lease.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek hires new heads of housing production office
Joel Madsen and Tony Rocco will co-manage an office in charge of helping Oregon meet Gov. Kotek’s goal of building 36,000 homes per year.

One year in, Avelo has received $446k from grant to subsidize Salem operations
Travel Salem officials said they expect Avelo Airlines’ Salem operations to remain commercially viable when a grant to pay minimum revenue guarantees expires in a year. The money comes from a federal grant and private contributions, not city funds.

Salem homeowners see moderate tax increases, rise in property values slowing
Homeowners in Salem on average will pay about $120 more in property taxes this year. Home values previously skyrocketed until around 2022, but that rise has since slowed down.