author: Michael Zegar
Blizzard Fires 20 Employees Involved in Sexual Violence and Mobbing
The wake of Blizzard being sued, more than 20 people have been fired at this point. The company has sent a special letter to employees and has already announced the next steps.
The scandal surrounding Activision Blizzard for the last several months continues. In a published letter to employees, Frances Townsend, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs, announced that more than 20 employees have been forced to leave the company as a result of the investigation and another 20 have been subject to other types of disciplinary action. These include both developers and project managers. The list does not include any board members. In an interview for Financial Times, Townsend said:
"It doesn't matter what position you hold or what job you have. If you have committed any wrongdoing or are a leader who has tolerated a culture that is inconsistent with our values, we are prepared to take action. The impact on our business will not be considered."
Additionally, Activision Blizzard intends to appoint 19 new employees to its ethics and compliance team, which has seen three people join in the last three months. Additionally, it is also set to "triple" its investment in training resources.
Townsend (who previously served as homeland security adviser in the Bush administration) stipulated that she distinguished between different patterns of "inappropriate" behavior. This is to ensure adequate legal action against each reported offender, as she counters that most "one-off" offenses can be corrected by an appropriate reprimand. If this does not work, or if the offence is of a "higher calibre", the company is to take more ruthless measures.
At this point, it remains unclear whether the aforementioned dismissed employees include Jesse McCree (one of the main designers of Diablo 4), Jonathan LeCraft (senior designer on World of Warcraft) and Luis Barriga (director of Diablo 4). All three were fired in August, with no reason given - although the first two were allegedly involved in a lawsuit.
The letter was published on the same day that Activision Blizzard asked the courts to halt proceedings on a lawsuit by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) over allegations of ethics violations by the department. By doing so, the company is trying to move the case to a court that specializes in complex litigation, which could mean a potential blame game.