Ubisoft intends to reduce its German workforce by approximately 100 employees across its Düsseldorf, Berlin, and Mainz studios.
“We initiated discussions with the Works Council last week regarding a proposed voluntary departure plan across [the three studios],” a Ubisoft representative told Game File.
“The voluntary plan is the primary measure being proposed to support the intended organisational changes.”
Ubisoft zone managing director Benedikt Grindel reportedly wrote in a follow-up email after a town hall that the cuts aim to “best position our German studios for the future… with a clearer focus on their role, capabilities, and organisational setup needed for the work ahead.”
According to Game File, “more than half” of the reductions are “expected to happen at Düsseldorf,” the largest of the three studios.
Last year, Düsseldorf was among three studios impacted by 185 job cuts, along with Stockholm, Reflections, and the closure of Ubisoft Leamington.
Ubisoft declined to specify how many employees the voluntary plan may affect.
Sources told Game File that a payout formula discussed between Ubisoft and the Works Council (a group of employee representatives) could “pay a worker’s monthly salary multiplied by 1.5 and by the number of years they’ve worked at the company.”
Game File added that “the formula is still subject to negotiations with the Works Council and has not yet been part of an official offer to workers” and that it “could be adjusted up or down, and it could be supplemented with additional bonuses.”
In response to the potential payout plan, the Ubisoft representative said: “The terms of a potential voluntary departure program remain subject to negotiation with employee representatives.
“No final agreement has been reached, and we won’t comment on specific proposals while discussions are ongoing.”
The proposed workforce reduction in Germany follows the closure of Trials developer RedLynx and recent job cuts at Ubisoft Singapore.
Both announcements are part of Ubisoft’s ongoing cost-reduction initiative, which progressed to its “final” phase this year.
As part of a broader restructuring into six “Creative Houses”, the company has shuttered locations in Stockholm, Halifax, Winnipeg, and Belgrade, cancelled six titles, and reduced its global workforce.
Last month, Creative House 2 was renamed Massive Entertainment. It now oversees Tom Clancy’s The Division, Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, and new original IP such as March of the Giants.