When you live in Orange County, it's almost impossible to escape from the Irvine Company.

When I wanted to find a nice apartment to rent a few years ago, it was hard to find anywhere that was NOT owned by the Irvine Company, but since its prices seemed to be at least $100 a month more than elsewhere, that was my goal.

We had a similar issue when looking for office space recently. The Irvine Company seemed to own almost every property listed, and the prices per square foot were not what we were willing to pay.

Of course, in return for those high prices, the Company delivered a higher-value product which is part of the reason that a lot of Orange County has such a reputation for affluence. It has been responsible for transforming Irvine Ranch, which makes up more than a fifth of Orange County, into shopping centers, office buildings, and homes.The Company reportedly pays the most taxes of any other entity in Orange County, so it is certainly an important part of life in this area.

It was announced today that 100 employees have been laid off due to the economic downturn. This is the first time since 1992 that the firm has done this sort of layoff.

It just goes to show you that it doesn't mater how much money you make or how well known you are, when bad times hit, they hit us all equally. My heart goes out to those who have lost their jobs and will have a much harder time finding a new one than they might have a year ago.