Last year, Orange County’s consumer electronics sector was marked by mergers and acquisitions, relocations and other major corporate developments.
All that had little effect on overall employment.
The 20 largest companies here added about 20 jobs, up less than 1%, to 4,102 workers through April. The nominal uptick followed a modest 1.4% decrease in employment a year ago.
The list, now in its fourth year, includes companies based here and others with significant operations in OC.
They range from global manufacturing leaders to startups covering a cross section of industries, including TVs, computers, speakers, storage products and remote controls.
Three companies added jobs and four cut positions. Three companies were flat, and 10 were either Business Journal estimates or didn’t provide enough information for comparison.
• Perennial No. 1, Western Digital Corp. (Nasdaq: WDC), reported shedding 99 jobs at its Park Place office to 1,415 local workers, down 6.6%.
The Business Journal in March reported the memory products maker cut its local workforce 7%, eliminating 102 jobs in Irvine as part of a larger cost-cutting initiative that eliminated hundreds of positions in California, according to a filing with the state Employment Development Department.
Western Digital’s 490,000-square-foot Irvine office holds research and development positions, as well as administrative, marketing and sales departments, according to its annual report.
The company also shed 114 jobs in Milpitas and 97 in San Jose, according to the EDD filing.
Western Digital last year eliminated 51 jobs in Irvine and 66 in San Jose, where its headquarters are registered.
The Business Journal in 2017 was the first to report the world’s largest drive maker changed its headquarters designation from Irvine to Silicon Valley, where many of its executives are now based.
• No. 2 Kingston Technology Co. has 650 workers at its headquarters in Fountain Valley. Its HyperX gaming unit last year crossed several milestones, including eclipsing $550 million in revenue, inking new partnerships with musician Post Malone, among other social media stars, and won exclusive naming rights through 2020 to Allied Esports’ global flagship property at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Kingston’s fastest-growing business line has now shipped more than 60 million memory components and 5 million gaming headsets since 2002, when it introduced its first memory products geared for gamers, computer enthusiasts and systems builders.
Kingston is Orange County’s largest consumer electronics maker, with 2018 revenue of $7.5 billion, up 12% from the previous year, according to Business Journal research.
• Brea-based ViewSonic Corp., a maker of television monitors and other visual display products, moved up three spots to No. 5 after more than doubling local employment to 186 employees.
Jeff Volpe, president of ViewSonic Americas, credited the spike to meeting growing demand of its large format interactive flat panel displays.
“With the ViewSonic ViewBoard display and myViewBoard software, we’ve experienced tremendous growth and adoption in education classrooms and business workspaces,” he said. “We see the growth for collaborative and interactive display solutions, so we want to make sure that we’re in front of these needs with next-generation technology in both hardware and software options.”
• No. 8 Universal Electronics Inc. had an estimated 164 workers at its Santa Ana office though that number is expected to go down after the world’s largest remote control maker in February announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters from Santa Ana to Scottsdale, Ariz. in an effort to “stem the rising cost of finance and administration services in Southern California.”
The move primarily affects finance, accounting, legal, HR and IT positions, which are expected to relocate over the next two to eight months, according to a spokesman.
“UEI will retain the technical, creative, and innovations teams located at the existing Santa Ana facility,” he said.
• No. 10 Dynabook Americas Inc., formerly known as Toshiba America Client Solutions Inc., added 30 jobs in Irvine to 97 employees, up 62%.
The unit of Japan-based Dynabook Inc. spun out last year after its sale to Sharp Corp. It no longer shares resources with Toshiba, prompting the company to add administrative and IT positions at its University Research Park offices, a spokesman told the Business Journal.
The unit specializes in laptop and Internet of Things products geared for the North American market.
• OrigAudio LLC moved up one spot to No. 14 with an estimated 40 workers.
The Fountain Valley-based maker of backpacks, Bluetooth speakers, headphones and other accessories was acquired in September on undisclosed terms by HUB Promotional Group in Braintree, Mass.
The company, which started in 2009, has estimated revenue of about $14 million.
Under the plan, its leadership team will remain in OC and continue operating under its brand name, according to a HUB statement.
