Powell’s Books warned employees Monday night that it will take “several months” to restore normal operations and indicated some layoffs announced Sunday will be permanent, not temporary.

The landmark business closed its five bookstores in the Portland area Sunday in response to the coronavirus outbreak, conceding “that we cannot honor the social distancing guidelines presented by” federal authorities.

The decision put hundreds of employees out of a job but Powell’s initially said it would reevaluate the closure at the end of March. In Monday’s email, Powell’s painted a more dire picture.

“Given the urgent need to close all of our locations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the inability to maintain recommended social distance, coupled with the rapid, significant downturn in sales in the recent weeks and days, Powell's needs to take to immediate steps to scale back the company,” human resources director Michelle Afroso wrote to employees.

Powell’s layoffs are suggestive of the overwhelming effect the coronavirus outbreak will have on the regional economy. Many businesses, large and small, may face similar cutbacks in the coming days and weeks.

Oregon’s jobless rate was just 3.3% prior to the outbreak. But hundreds -- likely thousands -- of Oregon workers have lost their jobs in just the past few days as the scale of the coronavirus outbreak became clear and businesses shut down to reduce the risk of mass exposure.

In her note to employees, Afroso wrote that Powell’s is assessing the minimum staff necessary to continue operations and will then begin “involuntary” layoffs. Powell’s notified employees that their health insurance will last only until the end of the month in which they are last employed.

“If sales continue to decrease in the future, we will need to take further action,” Afroso wrote. “We will try to avoid additional layoffs by reducing the size of the company over time through a hiring freeze and attrition.”

Powell’s did not say how many people will lose their jobs altogether and did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. The union representing Powell’s workers has 400 members and says roughly 85% of them lost their jobs in the temporary layoff announced Sunday.

“We deeply regret having to take these steps,” Afroso wrote. “This is truly an unprecedented situation.”

ILWU Local 5, which represents Powell’s workers, said late Monday that it supports the decision to close the stores in the interests of customer and worker safety. However, the union said it is “disappointed in the lack of support Powell’s is committing to those who are responsible for the company’s success.”

“The decision to lay workers off without reasonable provisions for their well-being will have a deep and lasting impact not only to them, but to the community at large,” the union wrote. “In this society, for any crisis event, it appears it is the workers who take the brunt of trauma.”

The union set up a worker relief fund on its website.

Job cuts are accumulating rapidly as the coronavirus outbreak spreads and governments and businesses take provisions to insulate people from the contagion. The Oregon Employment Department’s online jobless claim site was offline intermittently Monday amid a surge in electronic filings.

Many of the layoffs have been at bars and restaurants that have closed, and many more will close after Gov. Kate Brown’s order Monday that they shut down all but takeout and delivery service to avoid spreading the virus.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.