The largest consumer electronics makers in Orange County shrank payrolls slightly compared to last year.
The 19 largest companies here shed 52 positions, down 1.4% to 3,588 employees through April. That modest loss erased a slight gain in employment a year ago, when job count increased about 1%.
The list, now in its third year, includes companies based here and others with headquarters in Asia that have 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.
Five companies added jobs, and three cut positions. Five companies were flat, and six were either Business Journal estimates or didn’t provide enough information for comparison.
• Perennial No. 1, Western Digital Corp. (Nasdaq: WDC), cut two positions for 1,472 workers at its Park Place complex.
The world’s top hard drive maker posted an 8% increase in sales to $5 billion in the first quarter and boosted profits, but pricing pressure in the NAND flash storage market—two-thirds of its business—is clouding the firm’s immediate prospects.
The company still maintains a sizable presence in Irvine but corporate influence has shifted to its San Jose headquarters, where most of its top executives are based.
• No. 2, Kingston Technology Co., has 650 workers at its headquarters in Fountain Valley. In December the company surprised tech and finance insiders by joining forces with a consortium of global giants aiming to buy Toshiba Corp.’s flash memory business for $18 billion. The company best known for its ubiquitous flash and USB drives aligned with Apple Inc. in Cupertino, Boston-based Bain Capital, South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc., Dell Inc. in Round Rock, Texas, and Western Digital rival Seagate Technology PLC.
The transaction, yet to close, would likely have deep ramifications in OC, home of major operations of Kingston, Toshiba and Western Digital, a joint partner in Toshiba’s flash business for more than a decade.
• No. 7, Irvine-based Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., remained flat with 97 workers. The company, part of New York-based Toshiba America Inc., a unit of Japanese conglomerate Toshiba Corp., started the year with the high-stakes release of a smart-glass, augmented-reality PC for enterprise customers. The wearable device, which combines the business features of a Windows 10 Professional PC with the rugged characteristics of industrial-grade smart glass, is billed as enhancing mobility, productivity and security in a variety of settings, from remote job sites and manufacturing plants to warehouses and assembly floors.
Several applications are accessible via a five-button touchpad or by swiping and clicking the side of the glass frame, including video conferencing, video and photo capture, document retrieval, task flow data, remote instructions, and bar code scanning to ensure quality control.
TAIS also sells laptops, LCD and LED TVs, Blu-ray and DVD players, camcorders, imaging products for the security, medical and manufacturing markets, and storage products for the automotive, computer and consumer electronics sectors.
Other Notables
Irvine-based smart products maker Insteon moved down three spots to No. 11 with 50 employees, flat from a year ago. Its parent, Smartlabs Inc., was acquired about a year ago by Richmond Capital Partners, a Seattle-based private investment firm, on undisclosed terms.
Richmond Capital was founded last year by Rob Lilleness, who took the role of chairman and chief executive at Smartlabs, with estimated annual revenue exceeding $200 million. Lilleness is a former chief executive of Santa-Ana based Universal Electronics Inc. (Nasdaq: UEIC), the world’s largest remote control maker and No. 6 on this week’s list with 164 employees.
• No. 12, Olloclip, shed four jobs, ending with 40 positions, down 9%.
The Business Journal recently reported that founder and former Business Journal Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award winner Patrick O’Neill left the company he established in 2011. Olloclip introduced consumers to quality attachable lenses to improve smartphone photos.
Steve Muttram, who held dual chief executive and chief operating officer roles, also left at the end of last year.
Olloclip, which O’Neill launched from his kitchen, became a global accessory maker with distribution in Apple stores and more than 90 countries. It relocated from Huntington Beach to Foothill Ranch a few months ago.
“We’re still going strong here,” Director of Marketing Tim DeBrincat told the Business Journal.
• Huntington Beach-based Trace held its No. 17 ranking, adding two jobs for 13 local workers, up 18%. The company, which makes an electronic sensor and accompanying apps that track the performance of surfers, skiers, snowboarders and mountain bikers, was one of 15 startups that attracted $60 million in funding in October from Intel Capital.
Trace didn’t release financial details of its series A round.
It recently entered the soccer segment, co-founder David Lokshin told the Business Journal.
• No. 18, San Clemente-based RapidX, was the only newcomer to the list with 12 local workers. It makes chargers, car mounts, Bluetooth trackers, and gaming and office chairs, among other products.
