Business News Around the State, May 1

Oregon Employment Dept. release – Below are a few items you’ll find on this publication. Collins Company Lakeview Sawmill cut production to three days a week due to COVID-19. Onion packing and shipping season is coming to a disappointing finish at Snake River Produce in Nyssa as the company will discard about 2 million pounds. The southeastern Oregon-southwestern Idaho growing region is known for big onions and demand for them plunged after the foodservice sector largely shut down due to COVID-19. Construction is underway on Coos Bay Village, a retail center, in Coos Bay. Tenants will include Starbucks, 7 Devils Brewing Co., Charter Communications, and a retail outlet for Face Rock Creamery. Tillamook Country Smoker – a maker of beef jerky, meat sticks, and smoked sausage – is hiring at its facilities in Bay City and Beaverton due to increased demand for its products as a result of COVID-19. Bybee Lakes Hope Center will open at the former Wapato jail site in Portland. The 228-bed facility will provide services for the homeless. It could also be used for patients if the surge in COVID-19 cases becomes unmanageable for hospitals. Portland-based Next Adventure, an outdoors company, closed its distribution center and stores in Portland, Sandy, and Warren due to COVID-19. The Oregon Clinic, a large private medical practice with dozens of locations throughout the Portland metro area, laid off 820 workers due to COVID-19. CHI Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg laid off or reduced the hours of 350 staff members due to COVID-19. The hospital expects a $9 million drop in revenue for April caused by a 25 percent drop in emergency room visits, 45 percent drop in inpatient visits, 75 percent loss in surgeries, and 60 percent loss in rehabilitation patients.
Augusta Sportswear Brands in Coburg laid off 52 workers due to COVID-19.