Ubisoft Paris union workers are calling for a strike following CEO Yves Guillemot’s “worrying” email following the company’s most recent lackluster financial results.
Last week, Ubisoft announced another delay for Skull and Bones in addition to the cancellation of three unannounced games due to several recently-released titles underperforming. Following that, Guillemot sent a company-wide email to staff.
“Today more than ever, I need your full energy and commitment to ensure we get back on the path to success,” Guillemot said via Kotaku. “I am also asking that each of you be especially careful and strategic with your spending and initiatives, to ensure we’re being as efficient and lean as possible.”
Now, the French trade union Solidaires Informatique is calling on members of the Ubisoft Paris chapter to strike on Friday, Jan 27, 2023.
“In his latest statement, Mr. Guillemot announces a worrying future for Ubisoft,” Solidaires Informatique’s statement reads on Twitter. “If the request to employees to be ‘especially careful and strategic with your spending’ is ironic considering the company’s editorial strategy of the last few years, it is not funny.”
“On several occasions, Mr. Guillemot is trying to shift the blame (once again) onto the employees; he expects us to be mobilized,” Solidaires Informatique continues. “To ‘give it our all’, to be ‘as efficient and lean as possible’. These words mean something: overtime, managerial pressure, burnout, etc.”
The full statement is available below.
📢Ubisoft Paris – Appel à la grève
Vendredi 27 – après-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
As of the time of this posting, Ubisoft has yet to comment on the situation yet.
Nevertheless, there are several high-profile games from Ubisoft coming soon. Namely, Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.
