French union STJV has known as for Do not Nod staff to strike following the announcement that as much as 69 staff’ jobs might be in peril yesterday.
In a monetary abstract launched yesterday, Do not Nod reiterated that the studio has had a fairly making an attempt time up to now this 12 months, as soon as once more pointing to the underperformance of first-half releases Jusant and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden as motivating components.
That launch additionally confirms that “as much as 69 jobs” could also be in danger in what the studio is asking a “reorganization challenge to safeguard its competitiveness in an more and more demanding and aggressive ecosystem”, however STJV is not proud of this announcement or the way in which it was made to staff.
In a press release issued shortly after the layoffs had been introduced, STJV says the layoffs represent “the climax of a sequence of catastrophic choices” which have been “denounced for a very long time by staff’ representatives”.
In line with STJV, Do not Nod staff’ representatives had been knowledgeable in regards to the layoffs in a gathering yesterday. They “weren’t informed upfront in regards to the assembly’s matter”, and so they additionally weren’t supplied with “any paperwork and data” previous to the assembly.
STJV says Do not Nod staff have been elevating alarms in regards to the firm’s scenario for over a 12 months, and that former HR head Matthieu Hoffman described layoffs as “unimaginable” (STJV’s quote, not Hoffman’s) in summer season, simply three months earlier than yesterday’s announcement.
The union additionally says that Do not Nod administration is hiding its “failures” and “inconsistent choices” behind “excuses” just like the state of the economic system and the aggressive nature of the gaming trade.
In its message, STJV factors not solely to the aforementioned points, but additionally “the absence of social dialogue, the rising penalties on staff’ well being, the obstacles to staff’ representatives exercising their mandate, [and] the chaotic productions” of Do not Nod video games.
The union requires “a social motion just like the one presently occurring at Ubisoft”, calling on Do not Nod staff to “mobilize to save lots of their jobs and dealing circumstances”. Robust phrases certainly. We’ll have to attend and see in the event that they bear fruit.
