"...automated test suite saved the client 117 days of manual effort per testing cycle."
Sure, it takes more time to construct any given feature with unit tests versus a completely untested solution. However, any time you need to change the code, add a feature, or change something it interacts with, you are saving an incredible amount of time both in testing and the prevention of bugs discovered in production.
I really don't understand how, in the long run, automated testing can't save you time. If you don't think so, you obviously haven't maintained any software.
The asinine thing about this is that unit testing saves a massive amount of time in the long run. In the short run, even, it saves time.
You're really shooting yourself in the foot.