Portland, Oregon-based Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, the municipal transit agency known as TriMet, serves most of the Portland metropolitan area. has announced service cuts and a major reduction in force due to a structural budget deficit resulting from rising costs and reduced ridership.
The reduction will impact 400 employees, with spending cuts and staff reductions taking effect on July 1, 2026.
According to TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr., “These administrative cuts are part of a broader recovery plan to stabilize TriMet’s finances and ensure long-term sustainability so we can continue providing the public transit service our region needs for decades to come. Layoffs are always a last resort. We’ve worked hard to limit them as much as possible, but the financial realities we face made some layoffs unavoidable. No leader wants to lay off employees, especially during a regional economic downturn and high unemployment, and no public transit agency wants to cut service.”
Change is constant, and it's coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life, nor promises of a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something terrible hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, at any time, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall, why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you now wondering, Am I Next?