ECONOMIC INDICATOR
UP: Sales for January at Orange County auto dealers, which combined for a 6.6% jump to 15,062, according to the Newport Beach-based Orange County Automobile Dealers Association. The figures are based on new OC retail registrations, which included 9,102 cars and 5,960 light trucks.
Finance
Chase Bank is laying off 168 employees from its mortgage operations in Irvine by early March. The move follows a similar layoffs round last year, when the consumer and commercial banking unit of New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut about 240 jobs from its mortgage business here. The layoffs will leave Chase with about 2,000 employees and nearly 100 branches here.
Healthcare
St. Joseph Hospital recently laid off 152 employees and decided to leave 18 vacant positions unfilled. The moves are meant to trim about $30 million from the Orange hospital’s budget in response to lower patient volume due to the loss of patients to other providers; lower reimbursement rates; and a shifting list of payers. The hospital also will curb hours for certain procedures and services.
Hospitality
Anaheim-based independent hotel developer and manager BroughtonHotels completed renovations to three boutique establishments in Chicago: the 52-room Majestic Hotel, 55-room Willows Hotel and 45-room City Suites Chicago. BroughtonHotels has about 20 hotels in California and Chicago, annual sales of about $56 million and 400 workers companywide.
Media
Irvine-based Ubiquity Broadcasting Corp.’s application for listing on the Nasdaq exchange was accepted for processing. The company, which is currently traded over the counter, with a market capitalization of $788 million, is subject to Nasdaq’s review and will have to meet “all relevant quantitative and qualitative listing criteria” before approval.
Philanthropy
Greg McLaughlin is leaving his post as chief executive and president of the Tiger Woods Foundation in Irvine to take an executive leadership position with the PGA Tour in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. He said in a statement that he’ll stay involved with the foundation, which helps underserved students go to college and beyond.
Real Estate
The California Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido over conflict-of-interest questions involving his dealings with the owner of an auto parts business in 2010. Pulido and several of his relatives exchanged a piece of downtown Santa Ana property for a Westminster home owned by the auto parts business owner for about $230,000 below taxable value, according to news reports. The mayor then voted to grant Napa Orange County Auto Parts a $1.35 million city contract, and Pulido later sold the Westminster home at a $197,000 profit, the reports said. Pulido told the Orange County Register that the two properties’ values were the same.
Restaurants
Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp. released additional details about its expansion into breakfast, which it will support with what company executives called the largest advertising campaign in Taco Bell’s history. It spent $281.8 million in 2012 on advertising, according to Kantar Media. It’s uncertain how much of this year’s ad budget will go toward the breakfast menu. The fast-food chain, part of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum! Brands Inc., said its 13-item breakfast menu will be available at most Taco Bells on March 27.
Retail
Developer Steve Craig said construction on The Outlets at San Clemente, a $100 million retail center along I-5, will start March 31. He said the full project will take about five years to complete. It will include a 580,000-square-foot retail center with a hotel. Craig said building of the initial 250,000 square feet with spots for more than 60 stores could open in the fall of 2015.
Telecommunications
Cox Communications will lay off up to 150 employees in Rancho Santa Margarita as part of a move to consolidate call centers. The Atlanta-based company is laying off an additional 500 or so in San Diego. The announcement closely follows news that Verizon Wireless will close its Irvine call center and offer 1,075 employees the chance to transfer to other U.S. offices (see related story, page 1).
