Unisys drops plan for Philadelphia headquarters

In the end, it's Unisys Corp.'s sending a message to the city:

Thanks. But no thanks.

Unisys announced yesterday that the company would keep its corporate headquarters in Blue Bell rather than relocate it - and 225 jobs - to Center City.

Unisys, of course, was embroiled in a drawn-out battle last summer with city officials over the company's application to erect a giant red sign with its logo at Two Liberty Place, and lost.

"These are difficult times for businesses around the region and the country, and Unisys is no exception," Edward J. Coleman, Unisys' chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. "Keeping our headquarters in Blue Bell will enable Unisys to keep our team together in one place and contain costs as the company works through a very challenging business environment."

Mayor Nutter expressed disappointment over Unisys' decision not to move. He had walked the fine line of trying to broker Unisys' move to Center City while stressing the importance of high-quality city design and planning. He appointed all five members of the board that ultimately rejected Unisys' application for a zoning variance for the sign.

"Obviously we are disappointed, but our efforts to attract new businesses, new jobs and new investment will continue despite these very difficult economic times," Nutter said. "We look forward to continuing and developing our positive relationship with Unisys, and working to showcase Philadelphia as a leading city for cutting-edge ideas, innovation and technology."

Unisys denied that its decision to stay put had anything to do with its proposed sign getting shot down - although the Fortune 400 company had used the planned relocation of its world headquarters to Center City as leverage in trying to secure approval for its red sign last year.

The Unisys request to install the sign evoked strong opposition from some residents of Two Liberty, as well as from architects and planners.

The zoning code does not permit signs larger than 100 square feet and higher than the bottom of the second floor unless the applicant can prove a hardship. The Unisys sign would have been more than 600 square feet and mounted at the 37th floor of Two Liberty.

On Aug. 26, the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment ruled unanimously to reject it.

In making yesterday's announcement, no one at Unisys would even dare utter the word

sign

.

"That's a past issue," Unisys spokesman Jim Kerr said. "This was a purely economic decision."

The company has 1,500 local employees, 225 of whom were to move to the new Two Liberty Place digs. Unisys said it was working on a plan to sublet its space there - about 7 percent of the building - for which it has a 10-year lease.

The firm now is focused on getting out of the red.

In its third-quarter earnings ended Sept. 30, the company reported a net loss of $34.7 million, compared with a loss of $31.0 million a year earlier. Revenue was $1.31 billion, down from $1.39 billion a year earlier.

Last month, the technology-services company announced plans to cut about 1,300 jobs worldwide and said employees would forgo salary increases in most markets to save more than $225 million a year.

As of the end of September, Unisys had about 29,000 employees.

The company also said it was suspending matching contributions to its U.S. 401(k) plan, which had been costing about $50 million a year.

Kerr said the company was moving forward on cost-reduction actions. Unisys expects to record an $80 million to $85 million restructuring charge related to them.

Architect Joanne Aitken, chairwoman of the Design Advocacy Group of Philadelphia, applauded the Zoning Board's ruling last August, but had welcomed the company's planned move to Center City.

She said she was surprised by the company's turnabout.

"We would hope that when things get better, they would reconsider coming back to the city," she said.