Aerial drone company Insitu plans to lay off about 15% of its workforce, a cutback that will eliminate more than 200 jobs across the business – and likely well over 100 in the Columbia River Gorge.

Insitu acknowledged the layoffs but declined to comment on the number of employees who will lose their jobs. A person with direct knowledge of the cuts said they total 15%, confirming a tally first reported by The Seattle Times.

CEO Esina Alic notified employees of the pending layoff Monday and held an all-hands meeting to discuss the cuts Tuesday morning, according to Insitu spokeswoman Jenny Beloy.

Insitu, owned by Boeing, is based in tiny Bingen, Washington. It has 1,500 employees altogether, 1,000 of them working in Insitu offices on the Oregon and Washington sides of the Columbia.

“This was not an easy decision. Changes in our competitive landscape require us to do more with less,” Beloy said. She said employees will receive 60 days’ warning before losing their jobs and some will have an opportunity to take jobs elsewhere with Boeing.

“The Gorge is a very small community,” Beloy said. She said Alic is “very focused on the impact this would have in the community at large.”

Oregon and Washington are both enjoying historically low unemployment, 4.3% and 4.6% respectively. But the economies in small communities like Bingen and Hood River, where Insitu operates, are especially vulnerable to cutbacks from major employers because jobs are hard to replace – especially in specialized fields.

Oregon has endured a spate of layoffs in the past two weeks, with substantial cuts at Union Pacific’s facilities near Hermiston, Harry’s Fresh Foods in Portland, and Stimson Lumber near Forest Grove.

-- Mike Rogoway | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699