Oregon Feels the Impact as Nationwide Corporate Bankruptcies Surge Toward a 15-Year High

2025 is shaping up as one of the worst years for big-company bankruptcies since 2010, with tariffs and still-high costs squeezing manufacturers and consumer brands at the same time. During the year, Oregonians felt that wave as the bankruptcies turned into local closures.

S&P Shows Corporate Bankruptcies Set To Hit 15-Year High

In November, Reuters reported that large U.S. corporate bankruptcies are likely to hit their highest level in 15 years, according to S&P Global data. By October, 655 had been filed this year, compared with 687 for all of 2024.

This included 68 filings in October and 76 in August, the highest monthly count since at least 2020.

The full effect of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies remains uncertain, but businesses are already feeling the strain from rising input costs, sticky inflation, and a faltering labor market that is pushing up prices. Lower-income consumers continue to be hardest hit.

The industrials sector leads insolvency claims this year. There were 98 filings in the industrial sector – the category most affected by supply-chain disruptions from shifting tariffs. Recent credit concerns have also put the multi-trillion-dollar global credit market under the spotlight, with risks extending to several high-profile financial institutions.

Oregonians Feel Bankruptcies In Local Closures

While the national numbers explain the trend, on the ground, local companies are cutting locations, jobs, and services in Oregon as they restructure. A glaring example is Rite Aid’s bankruptcy filings, which added more Oregon stores to the shutdown list across cities and smaller towns.

The latest filing brings the total number of Oregon Rite Aid stores to close to 32 statewide, after 12 Oregon stores were recently added to the list of locations to be shut down. Unlike earlier filings that applied to rural locations, the two this month focused on stores in the state’s larger cities.

The newest Rite Aid bankruptcy filing in Oregon includes:

• Eugene stores on Coburg Road and Echo Hollow Road
• Rite Aid Albany
• Two stores in the Salem area
• A store in Phoenix
• Several stores in the Portland area.

Rite Aid Oregon stores listed in June 5, 2025 closure notice:

These follow closures in Bend, Roseburg, Lebanon, and Newport, bringing Rite Aid’s store closure filings to over 500.