AirTouch Cellular to Consolidate Operations

AirTouch Cellular said Tuesday it plans to consolidate its Southern California operations, relocating about 1,900 employees to a 450,000-square-foot complex in the Irvine Spectrum during the latter half of 2000.

AirTouch Cellular employs nearly 2,000 people in Orange County, the bulk of whom work in Irvine. The consolidation will only affect those employees, company spokeswoman Melissa May said. No layoffs or hires are expected because of the move, May said.

AirTouch has hired Lowe Enterprises, a Los Angeles-based developer, to purchase the land from The Irvine Co. and build the multibuilding complex. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

The company, a division of San Francisco-based AirTouch Communications Inc., said it has spent the last two years looking for a facility to accommodate its growth. Its offices in Irvine--which consist of corporate, sales, marketing, research and technical staff--handle phone customers throughout Southern California.

“In the past five years, we’ve gone from being in one building to being spread out in three buildings,” May said.