The biggest foreign-owned companies with regional headquarters or significant operations in Orange County employ more than 27,000 here, about the same as a year earlier.
The 36 companies on this week’s Business Journal list lagged the 2.7% overall employment growth in Orange County last year, when businesses added about 41,400 jobs for a total 1.57 million jobs here. The companies combined for a headcount of 27,321 as of Dec. 31, up 1.5%, or 397 positions, year-over-year.
Ten companies increased their employee bases, six cut jobs, six reported no changes, and worker data for the remaining 14 were Business Journal estimates.
- Panasonic Avionics Corp., a manufacturer of in-flight entertainment and communication systems that accounts for more than $1 billion in annual sales for Japan-based Panasonic Corp., took over the No. 1 spot with 2,083 employees at its Lake Forest-based campus, about the same it reported in 2014. The unit of Panasonic Corp. of North America in March acquired ITC Global, a satellite communication services provider with headquarters in Australia.
- Oakley Inc. in Foothill Ranch, the perennial list leader, slid to No. 2 after holding the top spot for years, having laid off about 230 people last year. The sunglasses and apparel manufacturer, which now employs 1,987 locally, also eliminated its “office of the CEO” in July as part of an integration process with Italy-based parent Luxottica Group S.p.A. Former Chief Executive Colin Baden was named chief innovation and product officer and has since shifted to a consulting role, according to news reports.
Innovation appears to continue, despite the shakeup—Oakley and chip giant Intel Corp. previewed a new smart eye device called Radar Pace at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It’s designed to provide runners, cyclists and other exercise enthusiasts with continuous feedback and analytics, helping to track progress and improve real-time performance.
- Japan-based Toshiba Corp. has several business units in Orange County and about 1,500 employees, a 31% decrease from its 2014 count. It dropped from No. 3 to No. 4 on the list. Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. and Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. are based in Irvine and account for about 870 jobs. Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc. in Tustin employs 628, a 6% decline from 2014 for the unit, which distributes, services, markets and sells ultrasound devices, X-ray devices and computed tomography scanners.
- Ireland-based information services company Experian PLC placed No. 7 with 1,300 employees at its North American headquarters in Costa Mesa, about the same as it had in 2014. The company in October said one of its business units “experienced an unauthorized acquisition of information from a server” containing data related to client and fellow list member T-Mobile USA Inc., whose parent is Deutsche Telekom AG in Germany.
- T-Mobile dropped two spots to No. 12 with an estimated 880 workers in Orange County.
- Alcon Research Ltd., maker of a variety of ophthalmic products, said it had 1,057 jobs in Irvine, up 21% over a year earlier and good for the No. 11 spot. Alcon is a division of Switzerland-based Novartis Group.
- Tustin-based MicroVention Inc., which makes coils and other devices for treating strokes and diseases of the brain’s blood vessels, landed at No. 13 with 800 workers, about the same as it employed in 2014. The unit of Japan-based Terumo Corp. plans to move to a new Aliso Viejo headquarters in the first half of 2017.
- Medtronic PLC, which has a tax-friendly headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and primarily operates from suburban Minneapolis, moved up five spots to No. 9 with an estimated 1,295 local workers.
It launched after Medtronic Inc. acquired Covidien PLC for $42.9 billion in a deal that closed in January 2015. Its Orange County operations include offices in Santa Ana for division Medtronic Heart Valves, and Covidien’s Irvine unit, which makes a variety of devices that treat strokes.
- Kawasaki Motors Corp. U.S.A. in Irvine posted the biggest employee increase among the group—31%—which was good for No. 22 and up five slots from last year’s ranking. It added 105 workers last year for a total of 445.
- Asics America Corp. in Irvine, No. 25, also recorded double-digit expansion of its worker base. It employs 382, up 28.6% over 2014 and No. 33 on the list.
The footwear and apparel company, a unit of Japan-based Asics Corp., surpassed $1 billion in net sales for the first time in 2014. It hired Gene McCarthy as its new chief executive in October, replacing Kevin Wulff, who retired at the end of last year.
- Bank of the West, whose holding company, BancWest Corp., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Paris-based BNP Paribas, placed No. 34 with 274 employees, a 13.7% increase.
- Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. slid from No. 17 to No. 36 when it reduced its Cypress-based workforce by nearly 19% to 235.
Its sales, however, show a different story. The subsidiary of Japan-based Mitsubishi Motors Co. sold 95,342 vehicles last year, a 22.8% uptick over 2014.
