Ubisoft employees speak out against the company for abuses and support the fight at Activision Blizzard
Ubisoft employees speak out against the company for abuses and support the fight at Activision Blizzard
“We have seen a year of kind words, empty promises and an inability to fire the guilty.”
Last week, the state of California filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for alleged harassment, sexual abuse and employment discrimination against women at the company. Facts that sparked comparisons with the widespread cases of bullying at Ubisoft that came to light a year ago. With Activision Blizzard workers on strike , after making clear their rejection of the company’s response, it is now Ubisoft employees who are following in their wake with a public statement in solidarity with this fight.
Those who have been responsible must answer for their actionsUbisoft employeesOne in which, also, they take the opportunity to harshly criticize Ubisoft for the lack of real actions after the events of a year ago. Shared by Axios, the statement has so far been signed by nearly 500 Ubisoft employees , across its 32 studios around the world. “To Activision Blizzard workers: We listen to you and want to proclaim our solidarity with you loudly ,” the statement begins. “It is clear, given the frequency of these reports, that there is a widespread and deeply rooted culture of abusive behavior within the industry.”
” This should not come as a surprise to anyone: employees, executives, journalists or fans, that these heinous acts occur,” they continue. “It is time to stop being surprised. We must demand that real action be taken to prevent them. Those who have been responsible for them must be held accountable for their actions.” Next, the open letter from Ubisoft employees is addressed directly to their own management , to Yves Guillemot and to the rest of the leaders of the French company.
Ubisoft employees, against their directive
We ain’t seen nothing but a year of empty promisesUbisoft employees” We, the signatories, have had enough . It has been more than a year since the first reports of systemic discrimination, harassment and abuse appeared within Ubisoft. At that time you acted surprised to hear that these acts were being committed inside of your own company and gave you the benefit of the doubt. Yet we have seen nothing more than a year of kind words, empty promises, and an inability – or unwillingness – to fire known culprits. We no longer trust your commitment to tackle these root problems. You need to do much more. “
On this, a report last May stated that Ubisoft continues with abuse problems a year after the controversy broke out. After reviewing the ineffective – or insufficient – measures that employees claim to have seen in the last year, the letter continues like this: ” We have endured and seen how you fired only the most visible culprits. You have let the rest of them resign from their position, or worse, you’ve promoted them , moving them from studio to studio, from team to team, and giving them second chance after second chance without any repercussions. This cycle has to end . “
The guilty must be expelled, as well as all those who were accomplicesUbisoft employees“We, the collective of Ubisoft employees, demand a seat at the table to decide the steps to take from now on. The culprits must be expelled from the company, as well as all those who were complicit, or who voluntarily ignored the actions. of the others. As the directive, it is your job to take action when you see that these acts are committed. Ignorance is not an excuse , it is not legally, and certainly not in the eyes of your employees. “
” We need real changes , from the base, within Ubisoft, within Activision Blizzard, and throughout the industry, ” conclude Ubisoft employees, who ask to define a series of standard measures for this type of cases in the industry. , and the collaboration of companies with their employees and union representatives to tackle these problems at the root.
Harassment and discrimination cases at these two companies have been the most notorious in the industry in recent years, but they are not alone in them. Riot Games has faced multiple harassment lawsuits in recent years, to take another example among the best-known companies, and it is increasingly common for these types of incidents to come to light in an industry that has serious problems to tackle .
More about: Ubisoft , Activision Blizzard , Harassment and Abuse .
