Fujitsu to Expand Operations in Anaheim : Consolidation: The switchboard equipment maker, the subsidiary of a Japanese firm, will increase the number of its employees locally from 300 to 350.

Fujitsu Business Communications, the U.S. subsidiary of Fujitsu Ltd. in Japan that manufactures office switchboard equipment, will expand its operation here as part of a consolidation of its U.S. operations.

Tony Carollo, chief operating officer of the unit here, said the subsidiary’s Anaheim headquarters will expand from about 300 employees to 350 by the end of August, partly through a transfer of employees and partly through additional hiring.

Fujitsu Business Communications, which makes switchboard equipment known as PBX systems, or private branch exchanges, is cutting its U.S. operations to become more competitive. The company had been operating with overlapping units since 1988, when it acquired GTE Business Systems in Phoenix.

Now the company has laid off 50 employees at the GTE unit’s former Phoenix headquarters and 100 employees at the GTE unit’s former research operation in Northlake, Ill., Carollo said. Some of the Northlake engineers will be transferred to Anaheim.

The company also eliminated a corporate sales unit in Phoenix and established 11 marketing offices around the country, including one in Irvine, Carollo said. The company employs 1,050 people nationwide.