The largest computer products makers in Orange County posted strong employment gains during the past year as local acquisitions helped fuel growth.
The 25 biggest companies in the broad sector added a combined 286 workers, up 4.7% for a total of 6,274 employees, according to this week’s Business Journal list.
The gains reversed a 3.7% employment loss a year ago and marked the third straight year of alternating job gains and losses.
Five companies added employees, eight cut jobs, and two were flat from a year earlier. The Business Journal estimated numbers for 10 companies.
A diverse range of companies comprise the list, from disk drive and memory products makers to networking and accessory companies. The list remained fairly stable, with one newcomer, and nine companies maintaining their rankings from last year, including the top four.
• Perennial No. 1, Western Digital Corp., added 300 employees for a local workforce total of 1,900, by far the largest company on the list and the most added jobs. The Irvine-based disk drive maker has been on a tear in the past year, surpassing Broadcom Corp. as the most valued technology company in OC with a recent market value topping $21.3 billion. The Irvine chipmaker had held the top designation for more than decade.
A trio of solid-state drive maker acquisitions bolstered its local operation, strengthened its position in attracting key corporate customers, and solidified its entry into the growing server and storage market that came with its $4.8 billion takeover of San Jose-based Hitachi Global Technologies Ltd. two years ago.
Western Digital paid $340 million for Santa Ana-based sTec Inc. in a deal that closed in September and $685 million for Milpitas-based Virident Systems Inc. in October. In July it finalized a deal for Lincoln, Mass.-based VeloBit Inc. on undisclosed terms.
Western Digital expanded its Park Place headquarters by 60,000 square feet late last year to accommodate the growth. That’s the equivalent of roughly three floors at one of the area’s office towers.
The deal at 3355 Michelson bulked up the headquarters to about 520,000 square feet at the sprawling, futuristic-looking office complex just off the San Diego (405) Freeway.
Kingston
• No. 2, Kingston Technology Co., shed 50 jobs, down 6.3% to 750 people. The Fountain Valley-based company laid off 55 employees in July as part of reduced production and packaging. The world’s largest memory products maker for computers and consumer electronics shifted more work to plants in Taiwan and mainland China.
The company aims to build on its growing gaming business following the debut of an audio headset at the International Consumer Electronics Show in January.
• No. 3, Aliso Viejo-based QLogic Corp., added 111 jobs, up 20.6% to 650 workers. The local gains for the networking gear maker came despite a companywide restructuring plan announced last year that aimed to consolidate “several engineering activities.”
In August, the company said it would stop developing what’s called application-specific integrated circuit switches, which are designed to quickly perform one function, such as determining the transfer route of data.
Its local growth may have been boosted by its $209 million deal in February to acquire key Ethernet assets, licenses, and engineers from Broadcom that provide a clearer path for product development in a segment expected to have strong growth in the coming years.
QLogic makes switches, adapter cards, and other electronics used for data, storage and server networks.
• Its Costa Mesa rival, Emulex Corp., moved down one spot to No. 6, shedding 21 jobs to bring its local workforce to 344 employees, down 5.8%.
The company has made strides to improve profitability and gain investor confidence, which has eroded in the past few years as sales have dipped and losses widened.
It has undergone management and board changes in the past year pressed by activist investors and is winding down a restructuring plan that aimed to cut about 10% of its workforce and close a Massachusetts plant.
“We will complete that transition this quarter,” Chief Executive Jeff Benck said, “and look to vacate the facility this quarter.”
The latest development followed another cost-cutting initiative concluded in the September quarter that shed more than 60 employees.
Emulex aims to cut about $30 million in annual costs in its connectivity business over the next few quarters.
The company designs and makes networking equipment that connects storage, servers and data centers.
• No. 22, Capita Technologies, was the only newcomer to the list, with 30 local employees. The Irvine-based company makes business software for the government sector and provides Web, data integration and migration, and workflow and processing management services.
