Following what is being referred to as a “calamitous statement” from Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, employees at Ubisoft Paris have been given notice that they will go on strike later this month as per Kotaku report.
The walkout has been called by the Ubisoft Paris branch of the labour union Solidaires Informatique, which has accused Guillemot of attributing to the staff the company’s recent financial struggles, which led to the cancellation of three unannounced projects.
Earlier the Ubisoft CEO, the developer of titles like Just Dance and Assassin’s Creed, sent an email to the company’s employees saying, “The ball is in your court to deliver.” To protest about the comment, Ubisoft Paris employees plan to go on a half-day strike on 27 January from 2 to 6 pm.
📢Ubisoft Paris – Appel à la grève
Vendredi 27 Рapr̬s-midi
M. Guillemot veut mettre la pression à ses employés. Répondons lui par la grève. ✊📢CALL TO STRIKE – FRIDAY 27th – Afternoon
M. Guillemot want to put pressure on the salaries. Let’s strike. ✊ pic.twitter.com/1SaS5SdwFM— Solidaires Informatique Jeu Vidéo (@SolInfoJeuVideo) January 17, 2023
By requesting that personnel “be as efficient and lean as possible” and “give it our all,” the Ubisoft Paris branch of Solidaires Informatique contends that Guillemot is actually transferring the burden and ultimately supporting overtime, managerial pressure, and burnout.
“Mr. Guillemot asks a lot from his employees, but without any compensation. Have salaries kept up with the high inflation of recent years? What about the implementation of the four-Âday week? What has been put in place for the teams that come out of the productions exhausted (like those of Just Dance or Mario)?” wrote Solidaires Informatique.
The union is requesting an immediate 10 per cent salary boost for all employees in reaction to Guillemot’s remarks in order to account for inflation. The group emphasised that the employers now have money thanks to the hundreds of millions of euros they received from Tencent.
Additionally, it demands greater transparency regarding Ubisoft’s efforts to evolve its workforce locally and globally, better working conditions, including the adoption of a four-day workweek, as well as a stronger condemnation of abusive management practises and covert layoffs that “push employees to resign.”