Santa Grows Circumspect at Many County Firms

Orange County companies plan to hang out the stockings for their employees again this holiday season, but they may not be filling them as full as in years past.

“We’re watching what we’re spending,” said Paul Hitzelberger, marketing vice president at Costa Mesa-based Del Taco Inc. The company plans more holiday events, he said, “but not as high-ticket.”

The attitude is in line with a national survey released Tuesday that said many companies still plan parties, gifts and bonuses for their employees during the holidays. But the scale of the celebration will be smaller, in reaction to the ailing economy. The survey, conducted by the Alexandria, Va.-based National Institute of Business Management, polled several hundred small to mid-size companies.

Few plan to hand out pink slips during the festive season, the national survey said, but those who have to make staff cuts will be breaking the bad news after the new year.

Among the findings is that fewer companies will be tossing holiday galas for their employees--72% this year, compared to 86% last year.

Del Taco, operator of a Mexican-style fast-food chain, traditionally puts on an evening holiday banquet at a local hotel, Hitzelberger said. But this year employees will share in smaller, weekly events that will include writing letters to troops overseas and collecting items for Toys for Tots. And they will sit down to a catered lunch in their offices just before Christmas.

On the bright side, the survey found that 65% of the firms plan to give their employees more time off during the holidays. Since Christmas and New Year’s Day are on Tuesdays, many employers will observe Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve as full or half-day holidays.

Jim Lofstrom, a spokesman for Allergan Pharmaceuticals in Irvine, said the company is encouraging its more than 2,000 local employees to take their vacations between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

“It reduces vacation accrual and helps us meet our 1990 profit objectives,” Lofstrom said.

In the national study, 52% of the firms surveyed said they will award year-end bonuses, which will average $400. Last year, 66% awarded about the same amount. The survey said 42% plan to give gifts to their employees, down from 53% in 1989.

Wayne Wright, owner of Incentive Associates Inc. of Laguna Hills, said some companies are still offering their employees free trips as holiday rewards for good work, but the destinations may be closer to home. “Instead of looking at Paris, they may be looking at Hawaii,” he said.

The national survey also showed a trend away from serving hard drinks at company-sponsored parties, because of safety and liability concerns. This year, 51% say beer, wine and liquor will be served, down from 63% last year.

John Moffa, general manager of the Airporter Inn Hotel in Irvine, said liquor is still being served at company parties this holiday season, but fewer bosses are picking up the tab.

“There are not as many host bars; it’s more on a cash basis, so (companies) are saving a little money there.”

Reuters contributed to this report.