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Here are the biggest public companies in Southern California, based on revenue data from FactSet. (Research by Scott Wilson)
10: Jacobs Engineering Group, Pasadena
9: Edison International, Rosemead
8. Aecom Technology Corp, Los Angeles
7: Health Net, Woodland Hills
6: Western Digital Corp. Irvine
5: Amgen Inc. Thousand Oaks
4: Qualcomm Inc. San Diego
3: DirecTV El Segundo
2: Ingram Micro Inc. Santa Ana
1: Walt Disney Co. Burbank
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"The shelf life of a Fortune 500 company is shorter than it has ever been, so you are going to see a lot of transactions like the Broadcom one," said Greg LeRoy, head of nonprofit research center Good Jobs First.
A change in ownership at Broadcom does not mean that jobs and wealth are leaving, said Linda DiMario, senior director of economic development and tourism at the Irvine Chamber of Commerce. To the contrary, she said, Broadcom has pledged to continue with expansion plans in Irvine after the merger.
The company announced last year that it would build a new 1.1-million-square-foot campus in the massive Great Park Neighborhoods development.
Globalization is changing the role of headquarters as local corporate citizens, said Saskia Sassen, a Columbia University professor.
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Giant companies now operate far-flung operations with small corporate staffs, bringing in consultants, legal experts, accountants and other specialized vendors when they need them ― and not necessarily in the home city, she said. Cities such as Chicago, which bled corporate headquarters during in the 1980s and '90s, have remained vibrant economies, Sassen said.
Southern California is still home to business giants such as Walt Disney Co., Ingram Micro Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. In 2000, 28 Fortune 500 companies were headquartered in Southern California. In 2005, there were 26 companies.
Last year, 24 top companies were based in the region, including Broadcom, Allergan and Occidental.
Some economists see the departures as cause for alarm. The Southland could lose skilled workers, philanthropic benefits and business cachet that come with hosting Fortune 500 companies, said Esmael Adibi, director for the Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University.
-The major impact is civic -- loss of engaged civic business leadership and a hit to local charities because these companies often take their philanthropic arms with them when they leave. It is true that the actual impact on jobs and economic activity is minimal, but the PR impact is...-
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