Bad news for Ubisoft: its employees call a strike

Ubisoft is in trouble after announcing a multi-million dollar cost reduction.

In addition to surprising us (some more than others) with a new delay in the release of Skull & Bones, the French developer has also acknowledged the cancellation of three unannounced games. As well as a multi-million dollar cost reduction resulting from “slower” than expected sales. This could translate into massive layoffs at the company, indicating that the employment of many workers is in jeopardy.

Ubisoft’s problems

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has delegated responsibility to his staff after this information was made public, telling them that.

“The ball is in your court.”

Unsurprisingly, this accumulation of problems has led some workers to turn to the French union Solidaires Informatiques to strike. The announcement by Stephen Totilo indicates that this work stoppage would take place on January 27 for 4 hours, from 14:00 to 18:00.

Solidaires Informatique, on behalf of the developer’s employees, has submitted a letter:

“In his latest statement, Mr. Guillemot has announced a worrying future for Ubisoft.”

“If the request to employees is to be ‘especially careful and strategic with their spending,’ it’s ironic considering the company’s publishing strategy over the past few years, it’s not funny. When Mr. Guillemot speaks of ‘attrition’ and ‘organizational adjustments,’ he means staff reductions, discreet studio closures, pay cuts, covert layoffs, etc.”

“On several occasions, Mr. Guillemot is trying to put the blame (once again) on the employees; he expects us to mobilize, ‘give our all,’ being ‘as efficient and lean as possible.’ ‘ These words mean something: overtime, managerial pressure, burnout, etc.”

Following this, the workers are asking for a 10% increase in their salaries

“With the millions of euros obtained from Tencent, there is money in the coffers for the employees.”

At the same, they talk about asking for an improvement in working conditions, such as:

• The implementation of the 4-day work week.
• Transparency in the evolution of the workforce.
• A firm commitment to avoid hidden layoffs and condemn abusive management policies that push workers to resign.

Ubisoft is facing difficult months ahead. Beyond all that has been said recently, it turns out that minor but significant actions have caused the French developer’s downfall.

Will the old Ubisoft ever come back?

If you recall, Ubisoft used to be known for putting out many video games every year. But, despite what you may claim, it was a studio that took chances and drew the line at different genres.

Some worked better than others, but all had fascinating artistic goals. Several tics, playable restrictions, and conditioning elements that they have been imposing with their releases are primarily responsible for what the open world is now.

As they announced the problems in getting their projects out, the value of their stock went down. Therefore, it will take a lot of effort on the part of the Guillemot family to ensure that it returns to what it was or even becomes better.

Header: Ubisoft