At Daimler’s Portland Truck Manufacturing Plant, the mood drifted between celebratory and somber as employees, past and present, gathered Oct. 2 to say goodbye to a factory where they had built over half a million trucks.
The facility, which once employed 3,000 people, was down to about 200, and the final trucks on the assembly line were waiting to be completed so that the factory can be decommissioned later this month. Thirty-some trucks were still in progress and were to be finished in the next week or so. Then staff will begin to disassemble what Daimler plans to move. Union contracts conclude at the end of October, at which point all employees will be let go.
While many workers are feeling the loss of a good job, some of the older staff are taking the opportunity to start a new chapter.
“I’ve got two pensions,” said Mark Buckley Sr., a quality assurance inspector who has worked for Daimler for the past 15 years. “I’m 63 years old, I’m retired after this … it’s not the end for me, it’s just the beginning.”
Layoffs had happened before, and in previous years Daimler had made rumblings about closing the factory altogether, but this fall that threat became a reality as the company announced plans to consolidate manufacturing at a super-sized facility at a yet-undisclosed location.
Buckley said that none of the staff at PTMP knew where the new factory would be built. “It’s a secret. They won’t tell us.” But he did say they were informed that it would not be in Oregon or Washington.
PTMP is a union shop populated by members of Machinists Local 1005, Teamsters Local 305, Painters Local 1094, and SEIU Local 49. Candy Reijonen is the head shop steward from Local 1005, the largest of the four unions. Reijonen said that after completing her five years this month at Daimler, she plans to go back to school with the aspiration of becoming a surgical technician.
For workers who have been there longer, the loss may cut deeper. Aaron Brown has worked at PTMP for 33 years. He said he plans to take a couple of months off to recoup and then start looking for a new job in manufacturing.
After a buffet meal of beans, brisket, and mac and cheese, Daimler’s official photographer gathered everyone in attendance for a group photo. Over 100 people smiled behind a banner that read “Portland Truck Manufacturing Plant, 1969-2026. Trucks Built 515,549. We Kept the World Moving.”
Then people were given 15 minutes to vacate the building so that swing shift could start its work for the evening, continuing assembly of the final trucks on the line.
The plant’s official final day of operation is Oct. 30.
