From the Portland Biz Journal

Columbia Sportswear Co. announced Tuesday it will lay off 4 percent of its employees.

The Portland-based provider of outdoor apparel and footwear (NASDAQ: COLM) said the move affects 75 of its 1,800 employees.

“Our recently announced 11 percent decline in orders for spring 2009 and our expectation that U.S. market conditions will remain challenging through 2009, make it necessary for us to better align our planned spending with those realities,” Tim Boyle, Columbia’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

Two weeks ago the company announced third quarter results that beat analyst estimates, despite declines in sales and earnings.