Polaroid's headquarters were housed in a picturesque villa and the warehouse was at a nearby site. An unusual set of circumstances had led the Italian subsidiary to change its location, formerly Milan, in the early 1980s. A series of attacks by the Red Brigade in Milan had led to concern about the safety of Polaroid staff. At the time, staff sometime could not get to work because union activities disrupted public transportation. Polaroid felt that, in terms of the social and political climate, a location other than Milan would be more hospitable to an American company. In addition, a major mail strike in Italy went on for weeks when the strike was resolved, mail that had been stored in railroad box cars during the strike was burned. By selecting a new subsidiary location near the Swiss border, Polaroid could receive mail at a Swiss postal address.