PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – TriMet is cutting costs and laying off staff to make up for a budget gap they had been working to fix for months.
On Wednesday, the transit agency announced it would decrease spending by $17.7 million and eliminate 68 positions. More than half of these positions were vacant, but 26 non-union employees were laid off.
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Laid-off employees were offered severance pay and reemployment assistance, according to the agency.
This announcement comes as TriMet faces a $300 million budget shortfall over the next several years. The agency said it’s “a challenge that cannot be solved through short-term measures alone.”…