Workers are experiencing a growing sense of anger.
Ubisoft held an internal town hall meeting with employees that was intended to strengthen trust in the company’s course and the changes being prepared. However, as more than a dozen workers told Insider Gaming on condition of anonymity, the effect was the opposite: many left with a feeling of disappointment and unanswered questions.
The meeting included Ubisoft head Yves Guillemot, Executive Vice President Cecile Russeil, Chief People Officer Sebastien Froidfond, Chief Financial Officer Frederick Duguet, and Chief Studios and Portfolio Officer Marie-Sophie de Waubert. The discussion took place in a roundtable format. According to employees, management often avoided direct answers or repeated wording that had already been used before.
As sources note, more than 300 questions were submitted for the Q&A session, and some of them received 700–800 support votes — several times more than at previous meetings. Employees themselves link this level of activity to a growing sense of anger and a loss of trust amid the company’s recent decisions.
The key topic was the policy of mandatory return to the office five days a week for all Ubisoft studios. Yves Guillemot once again emphasized that the decision was made "not lightly" and, in management’s view, should increase efficiency, innovation, and speed of work. He also rejected rumors of a "hidden plan" for mass layoffs, stating that management’s goal is to return the company to a stable growth trajectory as quickly as possible and share future successes with employees.
At the same time, the question of whether Ubisoft has real data confirming increased productivity after the introduction of the hybrid format with three office days still did not receive a specific answer.
A separate set of questions concerned staff reductions. Chief Financial Officer Frederick Duguet emphasized that Ubisoft had never publicly cited such figures, but confirmed that the company would continue "targeted restructuring" to reduce costs. He also added that by the end of the financial year, which will conclude on March 31, 2026, the number of employees will be "significantly lower" than in September 2025, when Ubisoft employed 17,097 people.
