Unisys to Cut 6,000 Workers by End of 1990

Unisys Corp. today announced that it will cut more than 6,000 jobs--as much as 8% of its work force--by the end of next year in a restructuring plan to battle weak domestic demand and stiffer competition in the computer industry worldwide.

Unisys, formed by the 1986 merger of Sperry Corp. and Burroughs Corp., also said that by September it will complete a review of all its operations that will include the cuts.

“We have examined in detail both our strategies since the merger and their operational execution,” chairman and chief executive officer W. Michael Blumenthal said.

“The basic strategies are working as planned . . . but our operational profitability has clearly been inadequate for several reasons, including the need to work off excess inventories, weaker than expected U.S. demand and sharper competition in all industry segments worldwide.”

Blumenthal said the company will cut annual costs by at least $400 million by the end of 1990.

Over the same period, Unisys plans to cut its worldwide work force by 7% to 8% through attrition and layoffs, spokesman Michael A. Stugrin said. That amounts to between 6,000 and 7,000 workers, he said.

Since Unisys has been under a hiring and salary freeze since the end of the second quarter, the employees who retire or leave the company will not be replaced, Stugrin said.

He said a major focus of the job cuts will be in the United States, where, he said “the softest market conditions prevail, unfortunately.”

He said that Unisys has “taken pains to make sure our people understand the trends in the industry and in the marketplace” and that the company has “a sense of determination to see this through and go on to better conditions.”