Ubisoft is facing a predicament as its developers demand changes to be made. Solidaires Informatique Jeu Vidéo, a French labor union, calls for a strike so developers can demand better working conditions from the company.
Demands for a Better Work Environment
The French labor union set a date for the potential strike which will be on January 27th. The demands include a ten percent salary increase which should be implemented immediately, which is meant to make up for the inflation, according to Engadget.
The increase will not be affected even if there are annual increases. It was pointed out that the salary increase was entirely possible due to the hundreds of millions of euros that the company got from Tencent.
Solidaires Informatique is also calling for better work hours, particularly a four-day workweek. Transparency on changes in work is also part of their conditions, which aims to avoid disguised firings and management practices that leave employees no choice but to quit.
The Actions that Motivated a Strike
The strike was prompted by an email sent by Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot to its employees, saying that it was canceling three games to make up for the current economic conditions that the company is facing, as mentioned in PC Gamer.
In addition to that, the company is also cutting $215 million in expenses for the next two years explained as targeted restructuring, divesting non-core assets, as well as usual natural attrition. A follow-up email asked employees to be "especially careful" with spending and initiatives.
The French union expressed that Ubisoft CEO Guillemot tried to pass the blame to his employees, expecting them to give their jobs their all and be as efficient and lean as possible, which points to overtime, managerial pressure, and burnout.
Management has made veiled demands all without protections in place for developer teams who are exhausted from the projects. There's also the issue of expecting so much from his employees without the possibility of compensation.
Ubisoft Has Been in Hot Waters Before
The video game publisher also faced workplace complaints back in 2021, which were filed in the French court. The company along with the CEO was accused of "institutional harassment," wherein Ubisoft employees witnessed or experienced it themselves.
Solidaires Informatique stated that the complaint was to acknowledge that Ubisoft was setting up, maintaining, and reinforcing a system where sexual harassment was tolerated. It was also mentioned that the harassers weren't fired because they were too valuable to the company.
Some employees at the time already resigned after being the subject of several reports regarding sexual misconduct in Ubisoft's Paris headquarters. This includes the former chief creative director Serge Hascoët, and former editorial VP Tommy Francois.
The complaint also looked into the former head of Ubisoft's HR department Cecile Cornet, which states that she let the harassment flourish within the company, according to Kotaku. Although CEO Guillemot was included in the complaint for also allowing this to happen within his company.
