Worcester city councilors voted to de-certify tax breaks for the Unum Group after the insurance company left its offices downtown. The vote was unanimous at Tuesday night's meeting.

Unum stunned many in 2020 when they announced they were moving their 400-plus employees to work remotely. They were the largest tenant at One Mercantile Street, a building they re-located to in 2013.

The TIF tax abatement was an incentive for Unum to stay in Worcester.

"Unum made a deal with the city,” said District 1 Councilor Sean Rose at Tuesday's meeting. “COVID hit, they sent people remotely, and as a result they just have not been able to manage and maintain what our expectations are. We can't sacrifice the resource of these TIFs, even despite unexpected reasons."

The de-certification now goes to the state's Office of Business Development and Economic Assistance Coordinating Council for final approval.