Activision Blizzard apologizes for its “insensitive” response to abuse allegations and promises changes
Activision Blizzard apologizes for its “insensitive” response to abuse allegations and promises changes
Bobby Kotick lists the immediate steps they will take: “You have my unwavering commitment.”
Robert Kotick. Image: Activision.After several days of criticism on social networks , riots by its employees and a call to strike for this same Wednesday, the top leader of Activision Blizzard finally pronounces on the accusations against the company for alleged harassment, sexual abuse and discrimination towards its workers. And it does so through an open letter shared by media such as The Verge. In it, CEO Robert Kotick acknowledges that his company’s initial response to the California state lawsuit was “callous,” and promises to take immediate action to address these serious problems at the company.
His statement comes in the wake of a public statement by employees, where more than 2,500 signatories harshly criticized the initial response of Activision Blizzard, who strongly denied all the accusations made by the state of California. It also occurs after Activision Blizzard shares fell on the stock market (-6.76%), when the large agencies (AFP) began to echo the case. In his statement, Bobby Kotick states that “this has been a difficult and worrying week.”
Sorry if we have not offered appropriate empathy and understanding.Robert Kotick“I want to acknowledge and thank all those who have stepped forward in the past and in recent days. I truly appreciate your courage. Every voice is important – and we are going to do a better job of listening to you, now and going forward, “begins the CEO of Activision Blizzard, before acknowledging their failures:” Our initial responses to the issues we faced together and your concerns were, frankly, quite insensitive . It is imperative that we acknowledge all perspectives and experiences, and that we respect the feelings of those who have been abused in any way. “
Image: Blizzard.“I am sorry if we have not offered appropriate empathy and understanding.” In general, Kotick assures that they have listened to the criticisms of these days, and promises measures to tackle this serious situation. “We are going to take immediate action to be the compassionate, caring company that you have come to work for and to guarantee a safe environment. In our company there is no room for discrimination, harassment or unequal treatment of any kind,” he says the CEO, adding: “We will do everything we can to ensure that, together, we improve and create the kind of inclusive workspace that is essential to foster creativity and inspiration .”
In our company there is no room for discriminationRobert KotickTo ensure change, and reassure those who do not trust Activision Blizzard to take real action, Bobby Kotick has requested that an outside agency – WilmerHale law firm – be charged with reviewing all company policies and procedures, in the interests of to change your practices from top to bottom. ” This work will begin immediately, ” adds Kotick. With this, the company leader cites the following measures that they will take immediately:
- Employee Support: We will investigate each allegation and will not hesitate to take decisive action. To strengthen our capabilities in this area, we are adding veteran employees and other resources to both the complaints department and the employee relations [HR] department.
- Listening sessions: We know that many of you have inspired ideas on how to improve our culture. We are going to create safe spaces, moderated by third parties, where you can speak freely and share ideas for our improvement “.
- Personnel changes: We will immediately evaluate managers and leaders throughout the company. Anyone found to have damaged the integrity of our complaint evaluation processes and caused the respective consequences will be fired.
- Hiring practices: At the beginning of the year, I sent an email asking all managers to make sure they have a diverse portfolio of candidates for all open positions. We’re adding compliance resources to ensure that our hiring managers are, in fact, complying with this directive.
- In-game changes: We have heard feedback from employees and player communities that some of our in-game content was inappropriate. We are going to remove those contents.
It is worth mentioning that Blizzard has already confirmed that they will withdraw certain insensitive content from World of Warcraft in the coming days, so it is seen that the measures announced by Bobby Kotick are, really, immediate. “Your well-being continues to be my priority and I will not skimp on company resources to ensure that we have the most open, comfortable and safe culture possible.”
Image: Blizzard.“You have my unwavering commitment that together we will improve our company, and will be the most inspiring and inclusive entertainment company in the world,” concludes the CEO of Activision Blizzard. This crisis, remember, has arisen after the state of California sued the company for its hostile climate with women, after an investigation of more than two years. Facts that have not only caused the call to strike by its employees, but also that the former president of Blizzard was embarrassed by the cases, and that other companies such as Bungie have harshly criticized the culture of abuse in the industry .
More about: Activision Blizzard , Activision , Blizzard , Bobby Kotick and Harassment .
