author: Zuzanna Domeradzka
Ubisoft CEO's Appeal to Workers Could Trigger Major Strike
The email sent to Ubisoft employees by CEO Yves Guillemot in the midst of the company's crisis has moved the target audience. A major internal strike may soon follow.
Probably many of you have heard about Ubisoft's bad time recently, related to the financial crisis of the French game developer and publisher. A few days ago, the company's CEO, Yves Guillemot, issued an appeal, in which he asked the employees to "be particularly careful in their spending and initiatives." Unfortunately, this may have worsened Ubisoft's already poor situation.
Solidaires Informatique, the labor union representing the employees of Ubisoft Paris branch, has decided to respond to the CEO's letter with a call for a one-day strike. It would take place on Friday, January 27, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm local time.
Source: Twitter, @SolInfoJeuVideo
Guillemot has been accused by the union of failing to give any compensation in exchange for complying with his requests. Solidaires Informatique, in its call for a strike, cited efforts that were not appreciated. It highlighted the exhaustion of employees in the teams responsible for the new Just Dance or Mario Rabbids (games whose sales results "disappointed" the boss), who got nothing out of their hard work. According to the union:
"CEO Guillemot is trying to put the blame (once again) on the employees; he expects us to be mobilized, to 'give our best', to 'be as efficient and economical as possible.' These words mean [to us employees - ed. note] one thing: overtime, pressure, job burnout, etc."
Moreover, Solidaires Informatique is demanding, in view of the situation, firm changes that would improve the situation of workers. Mention was made, among other things, of reducing the work week to four days or increasing wages by 10 percent (as a response to inflation) - the union stresses at this point that the money for this would certainly be found, thanks to Tencent's investment in Ubisoft.
A one-day strike could potentially extend and lead to an escalation of the conflict within the company, and this would not be conducive to recovery from the crisis the French company is now facing. Who knows if it would not at least result in a renewed delay of Skull and Bones or other upcoming productions.