Mazda Will Centralize Operations in Irvine

Mazda said Tuesday that it will centralize in Irvine its U.S. import and sales operations, now located in three states. As a result, the firm expects to increase employment in Orange County and lay off workers in Jacksonville, Fla.

Currently, Irvine is the regional office for 31 Central and Western states, with other regional import and sales offices in Jacksonville and in Honolulu.

The company said the Irvine import and sales operation will be called Mazda Motor of America and named as president Yoshinori Taura, currently head of the Irvine regional import and sales operation. The new company will be owned jointly by Mazda; Sumitomo, a Japanese bank, and C. Itoh, a Japanese trading company.

Mazda said it was making the move so that it can better respond to a “tougher market.”

As many as 30 workers will transfer to Irvine from Jacksonville, and a handful will move from Honolulu when the reorganization takes effect July 1, according to Mazda spokesman Fred Aikins. He said as many as 70 workers in Jacksonville will lose their jobs over the next several months.

An auto industry analyst said Mazda’s restructuring isn’t surprising, and it is expected to strengthen the company’s domestic marketing and sales efforts.

“They’re already one of the most successful foreign auto makers. This consolidation gives them the potential to expand in the weaker markets like the Midwest,” according to Chris Cedergren, a senior auto analyst at J. D. Power & Associates, an auto industry consulting firm in Agoura Hills.

Plant Expanded

Mazda has increased its sales in the United States every year in this decade until last year, when sales slipped to 331,724 units from 379,843 in 1986. Cedergren attributed the decline to a “dated product. This year they’ve come back with a new generation of the Mazda 626 and other vehicles.” Through May 31, U.S. sales were up more than 30,000, compared to the same period in 1987.

In addition, a Mazda manufacturing plant in Flat Rock, Mich., has expanded this year, and earlier this year began making the popular Probe, a car that carries the Ford name.

Also on Tuesday, Mazda said it has increased the responsibilities of its its Irvine-based research and development operations by creating a new subsidiary.

Last month, Mazda opened a $23-million research and development facility in Irvine that employs 50 workers and is expected to add as many as 20 more. Another 200 employees work in research and development at facilities in Michigan and Washington. Those facilities will continue operations and report to the Irvine office.

Hiroshi Moriyoshi, formerly a general manager of marketing and sales, will become president of the new subsidiary.