After weeks of building tensions at Ubisoft, multiple unions have collectively announced a strike to protest the recent overhaul of the studio’s operations and its resulting impact on employees. “A massive international strike” has been called by CFE-CGC, CGT, Printemps Ecologique, STJV, and Solidaries Infortmatique, all French unions of Ubisoft workers who are set to present the organization with a united front to challenge recent decisions. Ubisoft’s workplace issues range from layoff announcements and project cancellations to an anti-remote work shift that falls in step with evolving industry strategies.
Ubisoft’s reshuffle debacle has culminated in what is expected to be a three-day strike from February 10 to 12, with employees’ intent to turn down the company’s “anti-remote-work obsession, ‘cost-cutting’ plans on employees’ backs, top-down decisions, and coercive control on [their] working conditions.” As things continue to unravel for the gaming company, it may be time to question just how companies handle employee frustrations during times of change.
Ubisoft is set to face a union strike as workers express frustrations with recent decisions, extending from layoffs to the full-time in-person work policy. (Image: Pexels)
Ubisoft Union Strike Expected in February as Worker Frustrations with Management Mount
In a new post on Bluesky, the Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV) union announced the strike and called for Ubisoft workers, unionized or otherwise, to join a protest against the business’ recent decisions. “With management being stubbornly entrenched in its authoritarian ways, we are calling Ubisoft employees across France to join this strike, along with the five unions present within the company,” the post stated.
The union pointed to several issues with the company’s recent operations, adding that despite recent discussions with workers during their mandatory consultations, the company left employees to learn about Ubisoft’s cost-cutting plans at the same time as the press learned of its strategy. Difficult decisions are often hard to avoid, but an additional lack of communication can make such issues far more complex.
Ubisoft’s Workplace Controversy Starts with Its Rampant Layoffs
The Ubisoft union strike comes with a laundry list of complaints explaining the reasoning behind the decision. A significant hindrance in the employer-employee relations came with the shutting of the Halifax studio, which occurred only two weeks after its employees had unionized. The company later closed another Stockholm studio and confirmed additional restructuring efforts were also on their way. These closures came with the cancellation of multiple projects and the delay of several others.
More recently, Ubisoft set its sights on its Paris headquarters for additional job cuts, with a proposal to eliminate 200 jobs. Due to existing labor laws, the company turned to the “Rupture Conventionnelle Collective” mechanism to rely on voluntary departures to reduce its headcount. The union accused the organization of dismissing the creativity and careers of its employees, in addition to these other decisions.
The union strike is also a result of the dispute over Ubisoft’s anti-remote work policy and the overall decision to enforce five days of mandatory in-office work, despite the strategy having saved the business during the COVID pandemic era. “We are treated like children who need to be supervised, while our management gets away with lies and breaking the law,” STJV stated, the frustration apparent. Combined with the layoffs and the other changes to operations, employees now believe that the RTO policy has been employed solely to encourage more employees to leave voluntarily.
As Ubisoft Workers Plan a Strike, It Is Unclear How the Business Will Respond
Ubisoft has not released a statement regarding the union strike or its plans to manage it. The emphatic nature of the announcement suggests that the workers are keen on following through with their decision to strike next month, but there is sufficient time for Ubisoft to reach out to the union workers and set things right once more. Whether they will attempt to do so or allow the three-day strike to take its course remains unknown.
The public’s responses to the strike notice suggest that some gamers and streamers are willing to showcase their support and refrain from purchasing games from Ubisoft, which could be bad for the business. It’s unclear just how many would truly pull back from the organization’s beloved games, however, so the damage may be minimal in the short term. Despite this, the Ubisoft union strike reflects poorly on the business and brings additional attention to its repeated layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations.
Regular Communication and Attention to Employee Interests Is Essential for Operations
Unionization efforts have been growing in the gaming industry, despite businesses attempting to stem them early. Outside of gaming as well, there have been a growing number of instances of employees pushing back against employers for the working conditions and compensation provided by them, the Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers’ strike being a recent example. Some businesses may be able to discourage union movements to avoid this type of resistance occurring at their firms, but there are other ways for employees to convey their displeasure.
Even without a union to strike with, aggravated employees can become resistant to change and uncooperative over time. Doing the bare minimum to get them through the workday, employees who are constantly on the verge of quitting can disrupt a business’ productivity with just as much ease, making constant communication with them an essential part of operations for businesses to consider. An internal-first communication strategy is essential, and this needs to be done with an opportunity to allow employees to share their experiences as well.
If cost reductions and layoffs appear to be an inevitability, conveying this decision to workers and ensuring they are treated with grace in the aftermath are key considerations to keep in mind. Much of the Ubisoft workers’ plans to strike appear to stem from the way the company has handled the layoffs thus far, and how the RTO mandate has been perceived as “coercive control” over workers. Resistance to certain policies is often inevitable, but managing the reactions internally rather than allowing frustrations to spill out explosively can often save the day.
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