“Anger and despair [are] reigning supreme” at Ubisoft following its recent restructuring plan.
That’s according to French games industry union Solidaires Informatique, which organised a strike last Thursday (January 22) as the “initial answer to the absurdity of management’s decisions.”
As reported by Le Monde, around ten people attended the protest. Solidaires Informatique confirmed it is planning further action both in France and elsewhere with other unions at Ubisoft.
The union called for an end to Ubisoft’s cost-cutting plan, maintaining and extending remote work, and “decent pay rises this year.”
“At this stage, it seems clear to us that Yves Guillemot has no knowledge or understanding of his company or its employees,” Marc Rutschlé, Solidaires Informatique union representative at Ubisoft Paris, told GamesIndustry.biz.
“The company is continuing its cost reduction and lay off plan. Our teams are already working under pressure, often understaffed. After several years without pay rises (or very small increases), we understand that once again, employees will not receive a raise this year,” said Rutschlé.
“At the same time, the reorganisation is creating a number of high-level positions with excessive salaries.”
GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Ubisoft for comment.
Ubisoft has also asked staff to return to the office full-time five days a week in an effort to “boost the collective performance of AAA.”
In September 2024, more than 700 employees at Ubisoft France walked out in a three-day strike in response to the firm’s return to office policy.
Rutschlé claimed staff remain concerned that they will lose their jobs as they are unable to work in the office for the mandated period of time.
“From our union’s point of view, this forced reversal is a disguised redundancy plan, aimed at pushing employees outside the company.”
Overall, Rutschlé said “the atmosphere within the studio is particularly deplorable with anger and despair reigning supreme.”
He continued: “Staff representatives have witnessed several breakdowns in tears; some colleagues have made suicidal comments. If Guillemot wanted to make people miserable, he couldn’t have done better.”
