After a year 2024 marked by financial difficulties and several days of strike, the French video game giant Ubisoft welcomed a “renewed social dialogue” on Wednesday, following a day of consultation bringing together unions and representatives staff.
Among the measures presented to employees: the opening of negotiations for an agreement on union rights and working hours, as well as the continuation of discussions around teleworking.
“This is only the beginning and we know that certain subjects will require more discussions and efforts,” Xavier Poix, director of Ubisoft studios in France, told AFP, who hopes to have laid the foundations for a “renewed” and “serene” social dialogue.
These announcements “did not convince much” Pierre-Etienne Marx, delegate of the Video Games Workers’ Union (STJV) within Ubisoft Paris, who regrets “unilateral proposals which do not correspond to what was asked of them “, particularly around the issue of teleworking.
The group announced in September its intention to impose at least three days of presence in the office per week, which triggered a strike in October.
“A good way to approach (the discussion) was to step back on this point,” said Pierre-Etienne Marx, “and their position was to say no.”
In 2024, Ubisoft faced several strikes, relating to remuneration and remote working.
-According to the unions, they mobilized up to a quarter of the employees, out of the 4,000 the company has in France.
The STJV has also called for a national strike across the entire sector on February 13 – “a first”, according to the organization – to demand better working conditions and an end to job cuts in the industry, which is going through a wave of layoffs and studio closures.
In the turmoil on the financial markets after several games with disappointing sales, Ubisoft indicated in early January that it was considering several “strategic and capital-intensive” options for its future, while rumors of takeover and exit from the stock market are becoming more and more insistent. .
On Tuesday, the Slovak investment fund AJ Investments, a minority shareholder which holds less than 1% of the capital, warned management not to “attempt to exploit this process for the purposes of personal enrichment or to the detriment of shareholders “, in a letter addressed to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot.
AJ Investments, which claims to have the support of 15% of Ubisoft’s shareholders, said it was ready to call on shareholders to “demonstrate (their) discontent in person (…) in front of the Ubisoft offices in Paris”.
The group, which had 18,666 employees worldwide at the end of September, launched a global savings plan almost two years ago leading to the departure of nearly 2,000 employees, via unreplaced departures and layoffs.
