Amazon Says Thousands of Oregon Jobs Are on the Line After Kotek Freezes Data Center Permits
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s decision to pause permit applications for new or expanded data centers until July 1, 2027, has prompted warnings that the move could jeopardize thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in planned investment.
Oregon Data Center Advisory Committee report
In a recent report, the DCAC says data centers can create substantial economic activity through construction, engineering, operations, and infrastructure investment, representing about 15% of total employment in Morrow County.
The DCAC says multi-year campus expansion cycles generate ongoing construction and engineering employment. The cumulative effect counters the narrative that data centers only offer one-off construction jobs.
“For example, ECOnorthwest reported that data center construction has directly created approximately 3,900 jobs and $980M in labor income,” says the report. “Furthermore, many Oregon communities have secured data center investments in transportation, water systems, schools, first responders, hospitals, libraries, and other local priorities.”
Amazon’s response
OPB reports that Amazon is disappointed by the directive, and a company executive warns that Kotek’s decision could cost the state billions of dollars in planned investment and thousands of jobs.
Amazon told OPB that the directive was issued ‘without meaningful stakeholder engagement of the workers, businesses, and municipalities it will affect,’ according to Shannon Kellogg, vice president of Amazon Web Services Public Policy for the Americas.
Amazon has operated in Oregon for over 15 years.
What Kotek’s permit pause covers and why she ordered it
In a letter to Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Director Leah Feldon, Kotek explains why she has paused data center permit applications.
Kotek says the pause will give her office time to evaluate recommendations from the Data Center Advisory Committee (DCAC), as well as policy and regulatory reform considerations in the 2027 legislative session.
Kotek has repeatedly expressed concerns about the rapid expansion of data centers in Oregon, focusing on resource depletion.
The DCAC was convened by Kotek to examine how data centers affect energy systems, water resources, land use, public finances, and local communities.
The Governor’s permit pause specifies the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), Water Pollutant Control Facility (WPCF), Air Contaminant Discharge (ACDP), or Title V Air Quality permits relevant to construction and/or operation of new Data Center facilities.
The pause also stops the processing of city and county applications to renew or modify wastewater permits for data centers, according to OPB.