Insurer to Close Orange Office, Lay Off 300

Citing excessive employee turnover as a result of Orange County’s tight labor market, Nationwide Insurance said Friday it has decided to close its Orange office by late 1990 and eliminate 300 jobs.

The company will transfer the operation to Visalia in the Central Valley. Employees will have to move or be laid off, officials said.

“High employee turnover rates make it difficult to maintain Nationwide’s high customer service standards,” Vice President Bill Lee said. “The move to an area with a more stable employment market will help us better serve policyholders.”

Nationwide also announced that it will move its Northern California office from Concord to Visalia in late 1991.

The company will keep a local sales staff in Orange County.

Nationwide Mutual--the parent company of Nationwide Insurance--is the nation’s fourth-largest auto insurer in the United States.