Ubisoft Paris employees are planning to go on strike in response to a message recently sent by the company’s CEO. In an email forwarded to employees, Yves Guillemot did not take responsibility for the difficulties the company has been going through and suggested that the future of Ubi is in the hands of its employees.
The CEO’s statement followed the low financial results from the French producer in the last quarter, with Guillemot telling employees that “the ball is in your court” and that it is up to them to “bring the company back on track to success.”
In response, Solidaires Informatique, the union responsible for Ubi employees in France, said that the CEO is blaming his employees for decisions coming from above, directly from the leadership of which he himself is at the top. In the last few months alone, at least three projects have been canceled and Skull and Bones has been postponed for the sixth time — and the CEO seems to believe that this is everyone’s fault but himself.
??Ubisoft Paris – Appel à la grève
Vendredi 27 – after midi
M. Guillemot veut mettre la pression à ses employés. Repponns lui par la grève. ???CALL TO STRIKE – FRIDAY 27th – Afternoon
M. Guillemot wants to put pressure on the wages. Let’s strike. ? pic.twitter.com/1SaS5SdwFM— Solidaires Informatique Jeu Video (@SolInfoJeuVideo) January 17, 2023
Guillemot’s message seems to try shifting all the blame for Ubi’s recent failures onto workers who, after all, follow orders from the top of the company’s hierarchy. Some of these collaborators gave anonymous statements saying that part of the problems faced today by the producer is due to Ubisoft insisted on developing “dozens of games that gamers didn’t ask for.”
The CEO’s statements led Solidaires Informatique to call on Ubisoft Paris employees to hold a partial strike on January 27 of this year. The union pointed out that Guillemot tried again to redirect the blame for the company’s problems towards its employees, hoping that they would save the company. “Mr. Guillemot asks a lot of its employees, but offers little compensation,” stated Solidaires Informatique.
The union issued a list of demands to the French producer, including a 10% salary increase for all employees “to compensate for inflation”. Solidaires Informatique also requires improvements in working conditions, including a 4-day week, following the example of other European countries. In addition, the entity also calls for more transparency on the part of the administration, demanding “commitment against disguised dismissals.”
