The Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailleuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV), the French game workers union, has called for Ubisoft workers to walk out from October 15 to 17. This comes after a September 17 GamesIndustry.biz report that Ubisoft informed its 19,000 employees worldwide that they will need to work in the office three days a week. The start date for this policy remains unclear, but the union is mobilizing quickly in response.
STJV has raised concerns over the impact this policy will have on employees, stating it was made “without any tangible justification or any consultation with the workers’ representatives.”
“After more than five years of working efficiently in the current remote-work context, many of our colleagues have built or rebuilt their lives (family life, housing, parenthood, etc.) and simply cannot return to the previous working conditions,” STJV wrote in a statement. “The consequence of its decision will be the loss of our colleagues’ jobs, the disorganization of many game projects, and the drastic increase in psychosocial risks for those who remain.”
The union is demanding that Ubisoft negotiate a formal agreement on remote work and increase salaries to address a decline in living standards.
Ubisoft has not commented on the strike call. The company faced a similar situation in February when more than 700 workers participated in a strike after annual salary negotiations broke down.
The call to strike adds to Ubisoft’s recent difficulties, including delays of major titles like Assassin’s Creed Shadows and underperformance of Star Wars Outlaws, which led to a company-wide project review and a drop in its share price to a multi-year low. The planned strike, if widely supported, could further disrupt production schedules, impacting the company’s ability to meet future project deadlines.
