Foothill Ranch-based sunglasses and clothing maker Oakley Inc. held the top spot again this year as the biggest foreign-owned company in Orange County.
Oakley has continued to hire, defying an apparel and retail downturn that has led others to cut jobs in the past year or so.
The company, part of Italy’s Luxottica Group SPA, added nearly 50 jobs here in the past year for a total of 1,666 local employees.
Largely helped by Oakley, Wall Street analysts expect Luxottica to post fourth-quarter sales of $1.7 billion, up 4% from a year earlier.
Luxottica doesn’t break out sales for Oakley, which saw around $1 billion in yearly sales when it was bought in 2007.
The slower economy “has affected us, but we’re still a growth company,” Chief Executive Colin Baden said last year.
In early 2009, Oakley surpassed the list’s No. 2, Japan’s Toshiba Corp., which has four units in Irvine and an estimated 1,575 workers here.
The list ranks the 41 largest foreign-owned companies here by local workers. It’s one of the tougher lists to produce, in part because of the sprawling operations of some of the parent companies.
And, likely as a sign of the tough times, getting employment figures was harder this year. Figures for 22 companies were Business Journal estimates, up from 18 last year.
Most estimates were rounded down to reflect possible job losses in line with general economic trends.
As such, the list serves more as an interesting catalog of foreign-owned companies here rather than as a source of larger economic trends.
Japanese companies again dominated the list with 13 entries. There were seven companies from Britain, four from France and three from Germany.
Tied at two each were Taiwan, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Israel.
There was one each from Italy, Ireland, South Korea, Iceland, Australia and Singapore.
The companies span a pretty good range of industries, including the auto, software, computer, semiconductor and clothing industries.
As a whole, the list saw a 3.1% decline in employment from a year earlier to 26,544 workers. A year ago, employment was flat.
Of those that provided numbers, nine companies reported lower employment. Seven said they were up. Three were flat.
Standouts
No. 7 Experian Americas, a unit of Experian Group Ltd. with operations in Irvine and Costa Mesa, cut the most jobs on the list. Experian Group is based in Ireland with its operational headquarters in Britain.
Experian lost 300 jobs, or 20% of its local workforce, for a total of 1,200 workers here.
The company, which provides credit reports for consumers and helps companies avoid data leaks, slid down four spots on the list.
Experian got hit during the downturn as fewer people applied for credit and companies pulled back on paying for credit checks.
The job cuts are “in line with what’s happening in the marketplace,” spokeswoman Susan Henson said.
“Experian constantly evaluates our business to find ways to operate more efficiently and cost effectively,” she said.
No. 16 Ricoh Electronics Inc., part of Japan’s Ricoh Co., saw local job losses for the second year in a row.
It cut 160 jobs for a total of 626 workers among its eight offices and manufacturing sites in Tustin, Irvine and Santa Ana.
The company makes digital cameras, copiers, fax machines, scanners, printers and all-in-one devices locally.
Ricoh launched a cost-cutting program about a year ago that involved “a significant reduction in management positions, consolidation of operations as well as reassignment and restructuring of staff positions,” a spokeswoman said.
No. 8 South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Co., which has Hyundai Motor America in Fountain Valley and Kia Motors America Inc. in Irvine, added the most jobs on the list.
It was up 108 workers, or 10.6%, to 1,129.
Hyundai and its sister brand Kia defied what was the worst year for automakers in recent memory and saw sales and market share grow in 2009.
For 2009, Hyundai sold 435,064 autos, up 8%. Its market share increased to 4.1% from 3% a year earlier.
Kia sold 300,063 autos, a 9.8% rise from 2008. Its 2009 market share doubled to 3.1%.
As a whole, U.S. auto sales were down about 13% in 2009, the biggest decline in 27 years.
No. 9 Lake Forest’s Panasonic Avionics Corp., a unit of Japan’s Panasonic Corp. that makes in-flight entertainment systems for airlines, added 93 jobs here for a total of 1,115 workers.
In recent years, Panasonic Avionics has grown its Lake Forest operations on rising demand from international airlines looking to boost their entertainment offerings. The company’s been snatching up space in several buildings near its headquarters.
Newcomers
The list, always a work in progress, had some newcomers. No. 31 Tustin-based MicroVention Inc., part of Tokyo’s Terumo Corp., has an estimated 325 workers here. The company makes medical devices for treating aneurisms.
No. 36 Ikea Home Furnishings, part of the Netherlands’ Inter Ikea Systems BV, has 288 workers at a massive store in Costa Mesa.
No. 39 Fresh & Easy, a chain of grocery stores owned by Britain’s Tesco PLC that now has around a dozen stores opened or planned in the county, has an estimated 225 workers here.
And the Anaheim unit of Singapore-based Venture Corp., which engineers and makes electronics for the medical, technology and other industries, has an estimated 225 workers here.
