More Ubisoft backlash follows restructuring

Ubisoft isn’t having the best year so far. A couple weeks ago, they announced a restructuring that included closing studios, cancelling games, and a return-to-office mandate. About a week later, they asked for roughly 200 volunteers to be laid off.

Team lead at Ubisoft Montreal David Michaud-Cromp was vocal about his disapproval of the return-to-office mandate. In response, Ubisoft put him on a three-day, unpaid, disciplinary suspension.

And then they fired him.

Now, representatives from the Solidaires Informatique union that represent the Ubisoft workers at the Paris headquarters, are calling for CEO Yves Guillemot to resign. Speaking to Game Developer, Mac Rutschlé and Chakib Mataoui described Ubisoft management’s recent actions as a betrayal.

That article points out that Rutschlé doesn’t place the full blame on Guillemot, but he adds, “It’s his company, at the end of the day. … But everyone around him are just yes men.” He continues, “I expect nothing from this guy.”

Speaking of yes men, last year, Yves Guillemot appointed his son Charlie as the co-CEO of a new Tencent-backed subsidiary. Mataoui is quoted as saying:

“If you just put your white male friends in [those jobs], then you don't promote any diversity or get any new opinions or ideas. We are in a creative job. We need new ideas to come in to [help us] make great new games. But we don't have that. We don't have this mindset for creativity."

He continued:

“[Management doesn’t] understand their social responsibility to employees. … I'd rather have a manager who I consent to give my workforce, than a manager who I cannot trust. The situation right now is that we don't trust these people.”

Mataoui wants to see the entire board of directors removed and replaced. Ratshclé concludes with a call for solidarity: “Join the unions. At least organize yourself within your workplace, because our bosses are speaking to each other so we should do that too."