The largest chipmakers based in Orange County saw local employment rise at a 3% clip in the last 12 months, as strong growth for cell phones, tablets and other mobile devices overrode a sluggish global economy.
The 18 biggest chipmakers added 143 jobs to operations here in the past year for a total of 4,843 workers, according to this week’s Business Journal list. That marked the third-straight year of job gains for the group.
Companies on last year’s list grew their work force by 7.4%, in line with 2010’s job gains, which rebounded from a 3% drop in 2009.
The recent gains came despite an expected drop in global chip sales, which are pegged to fall 5% this year, according to data compiled through September from the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Stamford, Conn.-based market researcher Gartner Inc. reported global chip sales in 2011 were at about $300 billion.
Six companies on the list grew their work forces. Two were down and six were flat from a year ago. Four companies did not provide enough information for comparison.
Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. once again topped the list, adding 100 workers, up 4.3% from a year earlier.
The company, which specializes in chips for computers, cell phones and consumer electronics, employs 2,400 people at its Irvine campus, nearly the same number as the rest of the companies on the list combined.
Broadcom added 1,510 workers companywide for a total of 11,200 workers, representing a 15.6% rise from a year earlier.
The company had about $7.4 billion in annual revenue in 2011. It completed its biggest deal to date in February, when it closed a $3.7 billion buy of Santa Clara-based chipmaker NetLogic Microsystems Inc., which had 700 employees and sizable operations around the world.
The gain for Broadcom’s overall employment total was partly offset by the company’s quiet exit from the Blu-ray disc and digital-television business in late 2011.
That came as part of a broader restructuring plan that eliminated 300 positions companywide.
No. 2 Tower Semiconductor Ltd., which is based in Israel and has its North American operations in Newport Beach, has 700 local employees, flat from a year ago.
Tower Semiconductor bought Newport Beach-based Jazz Semiconductor Inc. in 2008 for $170 million. The company has integrated Jazz into its operations.
The company posts yearly sales of more than $500 million and is considered one of the top specialty foundries in the world.
Microsemi Up 7%
Aliso Viejo-based Microsemi Corp. maintained its No. 3 ranking with 278 employees, up nearly 7% from a year earlier.
Microsemi bought key assets from Sunnyvale-based Maxim Integrated Products Inc. earlier this year, effectively building on its $633 million hostile takeover of Canadian competitor Zarlink Semiconductor Inc. in October 2011. In the Maxim deal, Microsemi acquired lines of chips and evaluation boards that specialize in timing and synchronization, key components in tracking information in wireless networks.
The acquired products help speed up and deliver voice, data and multimedia traffic over wireless and land lines in communication equipment.
Microsemi had about $825 million in revenue last year.
Newport Beach-based Mindspeed Technologies Inc. was No. 5 on this year’s list, shedding 25 workers to total 208, down 10.7% from a year earlier.
Mindspeed makes chips for routers, switches and other networking gear.
The company is undergoing a restructuring plan as it integrates U.K.-based chipmaker Picochip Ltd. under its operations. Mindspeed cut about 25 employees in January after buying Picochip for $51.8 million and up to $25 million in additional benchmark payments.
It has 542 employees companywide, up 1.5% from a year ago.
The company plans to cut more than 80 jobs in research and development, sales and administrative operations, taking the companywide work force to roughly 500.
Toshiba Consolidates
Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. in Irvine moved up one spot to No. 8 after adding 30 people, putting total employment at 124. The 31% increase was the highest percentage jump of any company on the list.
The gains came through consolidation, with the storage device division under Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. merging into TAEC in October 2011.
Toshiba storage products include hard disk and solid-state drives, and flash memory for consumer electronics, computer, automotive and corporate markets.
The strategic reorganization placed key storage device business lines—HDD, SSD and solid-state memories, including memory cards and NAND flash memory—in a more closely focused operating structure, according to a TAEC spokesperson.
NAND is used in memory cards, flash drives, cameras, laptops and other products for general storage and data transfer.
