Union and over 3,500 Xbox employees to fight Microsoft management amid impending layoffs

Microsoft accused of breaking promises.

Microsoft is once again under pressure from unions amid reports of a new wave of mass layoffs. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) stated that it intends to seek additional guarantees from the company for Xbox employees and will not allow developers to be treated as "expendable."

This statement was made on June 29 during a virtual press conference held by the union, attended by over 200 people, including representatives from various Microsoft Gaming studios – Activision, Blizzard, and ZeniMax Online Studios.

CWA Vice President Frank Ars opened the event by stating that all Xbox employees, regardless of union membership, deserve respect and protection. According to him, the company should not view employees as easily replaceable resources.

After the acquisition of Activision Blizzard King, Microsoft agreed to a neutrality agreement with the union, which guaranteed employees the right to form unions without management opposition. Since then, thousands of employees in the company's gaming divisions have joined unions. However, this did not prevent Microsoft from conducting several large-scale waves of layoffs.

During the conference, employees shared why they decided to join the union. The Elder Scrolls Online developer Morgan Goin admitted that the unexpected closure of Arkane Austin studio prompted her to take this step. According to her, shortly before the liquidation, management assured the team that the studio was successfully meeting its goals, so the decision came as a complete surprise to the employees.

Activision Quality Tester Andrew Snell also shared his own experience. Several years ago, he lost his job during a layoff of contract employees, after which he was able to rejoin the company. This experience convinced him to support the union movement.

The main demand of the union is the introduction of clear mechanisms for protecting employees during layoffs. Proposals include mandatory advance notice of layoffs, a temporary suspension of external hiring so that current employees can apply for open positions within the company, and decent compensation payments.

According to Blizzard editor Alison Veneto, every Xbox employee should have confidence in their future and know that management has truly exhausted all possible ways to avoid mass layoffs.

Conference participants also accused Microsoft of a discrepancy between public statements and real actions. As an example, they cited the recent price increase for Xbox Series consoles, which the company explained by the rising cost of memory, while simultaneously investing billions of dollars in artificial intelligence development. Blizzard Senior Environment Artist Mahreen Fatima stated that Microsoft "simply chooses not to protect its employees."

Another complaint was the delay in collective bargaining. According to Morgan Goin, while Microsoft previously allocated about 12 hours a month for negotiations, it has now reduced this time to four hours, which significantly slows down the process of reaching agreements.

The union emphasized that after the official announcement of a new wave of layoffs, which has been reported by the media for several weeks, the union will again demand that Microsoft return to the negotiating table. Currently, the organization unites more than 3,500 employees of the company's gaming divisions.

Sherwin Uduwana, Treasurer of United Video Game Workers, who spoke in support of the union, stated that Microsoft management calls the latest layoffs a "reboot," although in practice it is just a continuation of a long-standing policy of mass layoffs that has not yet brought Xbox the expected results.