Orange County Register

Irvine continues to be hurt by company cutbacks and closures, accounting for half the major layoffs in Orange County cities this year, according to state records.

Employers in Irvine have reported 2,369 layoffs to the state Employment Development Department.

The huge size — 4,689 jobs cuts have been reported countywide — were primarily due to two employers.  JPMorgan Chase Bank cut 514 workers related to its purchase of WaMu last fall and Irvine Regional Hospital and Medical Center, which laid off 510 when it closed down in January.  (Newport Beach-based Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian says it will reopen the Irvine facility but not for two years after extensive renovations.)

Santa Ana ranked a distant second on the Orange County layoff list with 629 jobs losses.  The 210 layoffs at the Orange County Social Services Agency and 190 at STEC Inc., the flash memory maker, had the biggest cuts.

Tustin was hurt by the loss of 223 jobs at Lineage Power Holdings, which bought Tustin-based Cherokee International in November.  Huntington Beach got a one-two punch, losing jobs 102 jobs at Boeing and 91 at action sports retailer Quiksilver.  Computer hard drive maker Western Digital's 127 layoffs contributed to Lake Forest's large numbers.

The county's nearly 5,000 layoffs to date only reflect job cuts that employers are required to report when they reduce their workforce by 50 or more.  Thousands of smaller layoffs are not included.

Orange County lost an estimated 41,400 jobs last year.  The unemployment numbers for January are due out Thursday.

See the Register's 2009 Orange County layoff list HERE.

Need a job? Looking for bargains? Facing financial setbacks? Visit the O.C. Register’s Web page on Handling Hard Times.

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