Unisys to Cut 300 Jobs in State

Unisys said it will cut more than 300 jobs in California as part of its previously announced corporate overhaul that will reduce the computer maker’s worldwide work force by 7,000 or 8,000 and slash expenses next year by $400 million to $500 million.

The nation’s No. 3 computer manufacturer unveiled restructuring plans in mid-August to return to profitability in the face of price wars and slumping sales in the U.S. computer industry.

Unisys said 3,200 jobs will be eliminated at about 250 locations in the United States starting this week.

In California, the biggest cuts will come at the company’s Santa Clara operation, where 330 jobs will be lost, a Unisys spokesman said. That factory will employ 1,000 workers after this week’s reductions, down from 2,000 a year ago, he said. Further job losses are expected at the Santa Clara plant, he said.

Other job reductions--through layoffs, attrition and early retirement--will reduce Unisys’ worldwide employment to near 80,000 workers by the end of 1990.

Unisys said it expects “a significant turnaround of operating results in the fourth quarter,” partly because of the restructuring.

John Jones, an analyst with the Montgomery Securities brokerage firm in San Francisco, said that Unisys “clearly needed to take this type of action.”