French unions representing workers at Ubisoft have reportedly voted unanimously in favour of strike action following the company’s recent dramatic “reset” and in response to a voluntary redundancy proposal that could see as many as 200 Paris HQ employees lose their jobs.
Last week, Ubisoft announced a “major organisational, operational and portfolio reset”, resulting in the cancellation of six games – including the troubled Price of Persia: The Sands of Time remake – as well as delays for seven other titles, the closure of its Halifax mobile studio and Stockholm studio, and a mandate for all remaining staff to return to in-office work five days a week.
Amid all this, Ubisoft is proposing a voluntary round of redundancies as it seeks to further reduce operating costs. The move – which is being organised under the voluntary Rupture Conventionnelle Collective (RCC) process, wherein employees can collectively negotiate the mutually agreed termination of a permanent contract – could result in as many as 200 jobs cut at Ubisoft’s Paris headquarters. That’s reportedly around 18 percent of the company’s Paris HQ workforce, said to number approximately 1100 employees in total.
“In line with last week’s announcements on its new operating model and the acceleration of cost-reduction initiatives,” a Ubisoft spokesperson confirmed in a statement provided to IGN, “Ubisoft International has initiated discussions regarding a potential Rupture Conventionnelle Collective, a collective, voluntary mutual termination agreement that could involve up to 200 positions at its headquarters in France.”
“At this stage, this remains a proposal, and no decision will be final until a collective agreement is reached with employee representatives and validated by French authorities,” the spokesperson continued. “The proposal applies exclusively to Ubisoft International employees under French contracts and has no impact on other French entities or Ubisoft teams worldwide.”
In response to the companys’s voluntary redundancy proposal, as per French financial publication Les Echos, unions representing Ubisoft workers – specifically, Syndicat des travailleurs et travailleuses du jeu vidéo (STJV), Solidaires Informatique, la CFE-CGC, CGT, and Printemps écologique – have unanimously agreed to strike. The strike is due to run from 10th-12th February, and will reportedly see unions coordinating with their international counterparts in a bid to expand the scope of the action.
Following word of Ubisoft’s latest “reset”, the company’s share price plummeted 34 percent, resulting in its lowest share price in 15 years.
