Staff at Ubisoft’s Barcelona studio are going on strike over proposed layoffs that could see 51 workers lose their jobs.
Spanish union La Confederación General del Trabajo is organising the strikes, which are set to take place on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons between today (June 30) and July 17, according to a bulletin sent to local media like Hobby Consolas. Insider Gaming has published the information in English.
Staff are demanding continuity through a binding negotiation for a new studio mandate that ensures the 51 staff are retained. There’s also a request for job protection, which would stop Ubisoft from making another mass layoff of its Barcelona studio for ‘a minimum of five years’.
Workers are also demanding that already-agreed promotions be given out after they were ‘unilaterally paralysed by the company’, as well as that staff be allowed to work from home 60% of the month ‘to ensure effective work-life balance’.
Finally, Ubisoft Barcelona staff are asking for a formal review of the studio’s salary improvement plan, as well as social benefit packages.
The Barcelona layoffs were announced earlier this year, alongside the closure of Ubisoft Winnipeg and Belgrade. The company wants the Barcelona studio to be focused entirely on the Rainbow Six franchise.
This comes in the wake of a brutal period at Ubisoft, which has seen the company make deep cuts for several years now. In January of this year, the French giant said that it was initiating a “final” round of cost-cutting which is intended to yield €200 million in savings.
