Well, it's time for yet another scheduling change.
We're setting aside our Geithner confirmation show to jump on some pressing regional news: layoffs at Intel and Microsoft, and the closure of the Bank of Clark County. Oh, and an Oregon unemployment rate that, at 9 percent, has set a dubious 23-year record.
And then there was today's news: OHSU announced plans to cut between 500 and 1,000 jobs due to the economic downturn and slower than expected growth.
If you work at Intel, OHSU, Microsoft or any other company that is in the midst of layoffs, how will these cuts affect you? Are you worried about the security of your job? What's the reaction around the office? If you work at a surrounding company -- a coffee shop, or restaurant, or supplier, say -- what comes to mind when you consider these layoffs, and the worry of more? How will your business be affected? And what's next as the economic slowdown really starts to hit home?
GUESTS:
- Patrick Emerson: Associate professor of economics at Oregon State University
- Matthew Kish: Managing editor of the Portland Business Journal