Daimler Truck closes Swan Island truck plant in Portland, 375 jobs cut (Oct. 31)
Quick Read
Daimler Truck North America's Swan Island truck plant in north Portland closed for good Friday, Oct. 30, FOX 12 reported.
The company said about 375 jobs are affected. A state layoff notice filed July 30 lists 387.
Production of the Western Star X-Series, Freightliner eCascadia and Freightliner eM2 moves to North Carolina and South Carolina.
Portland remains Daimler Truck's North American headquarters and engineering base, the company said.
PORTLAND, Ore. - Daimler Truck North America shut down its truck manufacturing plant on Swan Island in north Portland on Friday, Oct. 30, ending production there and laying off almost 400 workers, FOX 12 Oregon reported.
The company announced the closure in July and said 375 positions would be eliminated. A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the state on July 30 lists 387 workers in a permanent closure of Daimler Truck's Portland truck manufacturing facilities, according to the Oregon WARN list.
What the plant built
The plant at 6936 N. Fathom St. opened in 1969, Transport Topics reported. It built Freightliner and Western Star trucks, and in 2019 Daimler began converting it to make electric trucks, though sales have been weak, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. The company has said electric trucks make up about 0.5% of its market, according to The Oregonian.
A company spokesman told Transport Topics that production of the Western Star X-Series, Freightliner eCascadia and Freightliner eM2 is moving to plants in North Carolina and South Carolina. The Oregonian reported the closure ends truck manufacturing in Portland dating to Freightliner's founding in 1942.
Why Daimler is closing it
"It's a network decision. Portland's production profile is different from our larger plants," Daimler Truck spokesperson Robert Sterling told The Oregonian. "It's not an indictment on Portland and what Portland's offering."
"This decision was not made lightly," a company spokesman said in a statement to Transport Topics, adding that the company would support affected workers with severance benefits, transition assistance and opportunities to apply for internal openings. The Oregonian reported some Portland employees may be offered jobs at the East Coast plants.
Headquarters jobs stay
Daimler Truck says Portland will remain its North American headquarters, FOX 12 reported. Transport Topics reported the Swan Island campus is also its engineering base and that a $40 million engineering and training facility opened there in July. Daimler Truck employs about 3,000 people in Oregon, including corporate and engineering staff and a test track in Madras, according to The Oregonian.
Union response
At least four unions represent Daimler's Portland employees, including the Teamsters and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, The Oregonian reported. In July, the IAM said: "Our employer's decision to leave the Portland area does not remove the heart and soul that our members have put into their work at Daimler. And the IAM will support and fight for our members regardless of any decision their employer makes," according to FOX 12.
IAM District W24 and Local 1005 said bargaining over the closure would begin the week of Aug. 3 and that its contract covers severance, retiree health care and benefit extensions, Transport Topics reported. Willamette News did not find a public report on the outcome of that bargaining.
Help for laid-off workers
Workers who lost jobs can get job search help, training information and unemployment guidance through WorkSource Oregon, the state's public workforce system. The state's Rapid Response program, which tracks WARN notices, works to help affected workers return to work quickly, according to the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission.
Sources
FOX 12 Oregon (KPTV): Daimler closes truck manufacturing plant in north Portland; Lays off 375 workers (Oct. 30, 2026)
The Oregonian/OregonLive: Daimler Truck will shut Portland factory, lay off 375, by Mike Rogoway (July 29, 2026)
Transport Topics: DTNA to shutter Portland manufacturing plant at end of October
Oregon HECC Rapid Response: WARN notice 9549, Daimler Truck North America, LLC (July 30, 2026)
Cover photo: Freightliner eM2 106, by Bill Beers, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 4.0
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