The foreign-owned companies with operations in Orange County combined to employ 30,042 workers here in 2013, up 5% from a year earlier.
The 37 companies with 200 or more employees on this week’s Business Journal list outperformed the 2% countywide growth rate in 2013.
OC employers overall added an estimated 34,800 workers last year, according to the California Employment Development Department, which brought the total number of jobs here to 1.5 million.
Foothill Ranch-based Oakley Inc. led the foreign-owned companies in OC, in terms of its overall size and additions to its workforce. The sunglasses and apparel maker hired 404 workers in 2013 for a total of 2,661 employees. Oakley is part of Italy-based Luxottica Group SPA, which also owns the Chanel, Prada, Ray-Ban, Dolce & Gabbana and Tiffany & Co. brands.
Blizzard
Blizzard Entertainment Inc. retained the No. 2 spot with 100 new employees for a total of 1,900 working at its Irvine headquarters, although that comes with an asterisk. Blizzard is a unit of Activision Blizzard, whose parent was Paris-based Vivendi Universal for most of the year. Santa Monica-based Activision bought back a controlling stake in its operations from Vivendi in October, however, which means its Blizzard unit is now domestically owned and set to drop off the Business Journal’s list of foreign-owned companies next year.
Toshiba Corp. in Irvine moved to the No. 3 spot by hiring 233 workers, a 15.4% increase to its now 1,745-strong staff.
Fourteen other companies on the list increased their employee counts, five companies shrank their workforces, and six saw their numbers stay flat. Figures for the remaining nine companies are Business Journal estimates.
Mazda North American Operations in Irvine was the biggest year-over-year gainer — the Japan-based automaker hired 150 employees in 2013, a 50% increase. The company reported a 2.5% increase in sales to 283,947 vehicles last year, its highest total since 2007. It ranked No. 24.
Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile USA Inc. added 160 positions in OC across numerous departments, including sales and marketing, for a total of 660. The company is owned by Deutsche Telekom AG, in Bonn, Germany. The wireless service provider moved up from No. 22 to No. 14 on the Business Journal’s list.
The wireless service provider “has seen tremendous momentum in the business as consumers have switched to T-Mobile in record numbers,” which has led to its “need to grow,” according to the company’s spokesperson.
Thales Avionics Inc. in Irvine ranked No. 11. The company increased its workforce by 29.4% by adding 250 employees, for a total of 1,100. It is owned by France-based Thales Group.
No. 19 U.K.-based Meggitt PLC’s local unit added 79 workers last year for a total of 617 workers here, up 14.6%.
Costa Mesa-based Hyundai Motor America Inc. added 87 workers but slid six spots in the ranking to No. 9. It now employs 1,307 here, up 7.3% from a year earlier.
Costa Mesa-based Volcom Inc., owned by luxury brand holding company Kering SA of Paris, made the list at No. 28 with a 2.6% increase in staffing levels. The maker of clothes, shoes and accessories added nine workers last year for a total of 348 employees.
Lake Forest-based Panasonic Avionics Corp., part of Panasonic Corp. in Japan, slid one spot to No. 5. It has 1,634 employees here, up 1.3%, from a year earlier.
No. 6-ranked Union Bank added 15 jobs last year and now has 1,545 employees here. It is part of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.
Ricoh Electronics Inc., a technology company specializing in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services, shed a combined 57 jobs at its Tustin and Santa Ana locations. The company, ranked No. 25, is owned by Tokyo, Japan-based Ricoh Group.
Billabong
Billabong USA, a manufacturer of surfwear apparel that competes with OC brands such as Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc., reported 520 employees working at its local operations, down 5.4% from 2012. The company, which ranked No. 23 on the list, is owned by Australia-based Billabong International Ltd.
Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA cut its workforce by 15% and slid to the No. 29 spot on the list. It now has 340 employees at its Irvine operations. The company is owned by Japan-based Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.
EADS North America Test and Services in Irvine, a newcomer to the list at No. 37, added 29 jobs, for a total of 220 positions. The company is owned by EADS NV in Schiphol-Rijk, Netherlands.
Download the 2014 OC’s LARGEST FOREIGN-OWNED COMPANIES list (pdf)
