Unisys will keep headquarters in Blue Bell
The information technology company dropped plans to move its corporate headquarters to Center City.
Unisys will keep headquarters in Blue Bell
Mike Armstrong, Inquirer Columnist
Unisys Corp. made official what everyone expected:
The computer company will stay in Blue Bell rather than move to Philadelphia.
In a statement today, Unisys officials said they would seek to sublet the space it had leased at Two Liberty Place. And new CEO Ed Coleman cited the difficult economy as the main reason for the decision.
The company's statement also included reaction from Mayor Nutter, quoting him as being "disappointed" but pledging to continue the city's efforts to attract "new businesses, new jobs and new investment."
Here's the full release:
BLUE BELL, Pa., January 6, 2009 – Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) today announced that the company will keep its corporate headquarters in Blue Bell, Pa. rather than relocate it to center city Philadelphia.
“These are difficult times for businesses around the region and the country, and Unisys is no exception,” said Unisys Chairman and CEO Ed Coleman. “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.”
The company had originally proposed to relocate about 225 of its Blue Bell-based employees to a new corporate headquarters at Two Liberty Place in center city, Philadelphia, with the remaining Blue Bell-based employees staying in a suburban Philadelphia location.
Unisys, which has a total of approximately 1,500 employees in the Delaware Valley, said it is working to sublet the space it has leased at Two Liberty Place.
Unisys praised Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and his administration for their efforts to facilitate the company’s proposed move to Center City Philadelphia.
“Mayor Nutter and his team have been extremely responsive and a pleasure to work with,” said Lawrence Wieser, vice president, Global Operations, Unisys. “We have been very impressed with the professionalism they’ve shown and the ideas they’ve brought forth throughout this process. Our decision is purely economic and is the best one for our company at this time.”
“Obviously we are disappointed, but our efforts to attract new businesses, new jobs, and new investment will continue, despite these very difficult economic times,” said Philadelphia Mayor Nutter. “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.”
Comments (5)
Okay, Philadelphia. Take THAT to the bank.— tonyS- The economy is a cop-out excuse. Unisys wanted the sign, did not get it so will take it's business elsewhere. No surprise here.— thebaron
- What a surprise! Posted by The Real Cassandra 11:38 AM, 12/25/2008 Mike, good article. However, let's be serious about the "speculation" as to whether Unisys will be relocating it's headquarters to Two Liberty Place. The last I looked, their stock price was around $0.50 per share. Don't worry about being taken off the S&P 500, be worried about having the stock delisted completely on any exchange. They're actually thinking about doing a reverse stock split to get the share price over a $1.00 per share. That should fool the investing public :) When their shares are delisted, maybe they can sell their shares at The Dollar Store on a two-for-one special. Oh, and back to whether or not they will move into Two Liberty Place, I'm ROTFLMAO. No, they won't be moving into Two Liberty Place. Cliff Lifflander, the hedge fund manager who controls their every move, won't allow that. No, they've figured out a way to even loose money on leasing office space, not just on their main business.— The Real Cassandra
Comment removed.- A sad day for Unisys and Philadelphia. I hope both do better in the future.— StewieforPresident
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Mike Armstrong blogs about Philadelphia corporations and business-related topics. Contact him at 215-854-2980.
Reach Mike at marmstrong@phillynews.com.
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