Irvine Co. Consolidates Offices, Lays Off 15

Orange County’s largest landowner, the Irvine Co., has laid off 15 people as part of a consolidation of its accounting operations.

“We consider it fine-tuning. We are consolidating some functions and getting better positioned for the year,” said spokesman Larry Thomas.

The Irvine Co. has created a central accounting office and eliminated divisional accounting offices, Thomas said. He added that the company recently hired two managers in its investment properties division.

In other employee changes, Peter D. Zeughauser, the Irvine Co.’s top legal counsel, has resigned after 15 years to start a consulting firm, ClientFocus, Thomas said.

Privately held Irvine Co. now has about 200 employees, he said. It went through several rounds of layoffs in the early 1990s that reduced its staff to current levels from nearly 1,500 in 1985.