Ubisoft employees in Paris plan strike after CEO’s comments
Ubisoft has recently canceled a bunch of games after a disappointing 2022 for the company. CEO Yves Guillemot sent an email to all employees on this occasion, in which he stated: “I am also asking that each of you be especially careful and strategic with your spending and initiatives, to ensure we’re being as efficient and lean as possible. The ball is in your court to deliver this line-up on time and at the expected level of quality, and show everyone what we are capable of achieving.”
This obviously came across as laying the complete blame for the company’s performance on the workers, casting the leadership in an innocent light. The employees did not take that well, to say the least.
Ubisoft Paris employees are preparing to strike after the CEO's demands to be careful with spending.
Ubisoft
Responding to Guillemot’s email, the Solidaires Informatique trade union’s Ubisoft Paris chapter has issued a set of demands to defend the working conditions at the company, saying that the CEO’s comments could be an indicator for coming crunch cycles, cuts, and other anti-worker measures. The following demands were made:
- Immediate 10% increase in all salaries
- Implementation of a 4-day workweek
- Transparency on the evolution of the workplace
- End to disguised layoffs
The union also plans to hold a strike on January 27, 2023. Though short – all work will halt for just four hours – and limited to the Paris offices, it’s a serious warning shot for the corporate leadership at Ubisoft.
It also could possibly be an incentive for a wave of similar actions by the branches in North America, where game developers such as Proletariat have recently discovered a new-found taste for unionization to protect themselves from corporate overreach and exploitation.
