Navigant Plans to Cut 130 Jobs; Ax Won’t Hit Santa Ana Office

Digesting a series of acquisitions, the business-travel agency Navigant International Inc. plans to eliminate about 130 jobs nationwide, or 4% of its work force. But officials say its local office will escape the cuts.

The Englewood, Colo., firm has grown dramatically by buying regional travel firms, including Associated Travel in Santa Ana--a deal that made it the largest agency in Orange County. However, it has made fewer large acquisitions in the Southwestern states, meaning less room to chop away at duplicate operations such as accounting and human resources.

“Also, we’ve been keeping ourselves lean and mean,” said David F. Buskirk, Navigant’s regional president. Navigant has acquired 29 agencies since January 1997.