E.N. source Reuters
Published on 09/26/2024 at 4:42 p.m.
“After more than five years of working efficiently under the current teleworking framework, many of our colleagues have reorganized their lives and simply cannot return to the conditions before,” said the video game workers’ union.
(Boursier.com) — While Ubisoft’s stock plunged on the Paris Stock Exchange on Thursday after the announcement of the postponement of the highly anticipated game ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’, several unions called on employees of the video game publisher in France to strike for three days starting October 15 to protest against the obligation to return to work in person at least three days a week.
The video game workers’ union (STJV), Solidaires Informatique and the CFE-CGC Fieci are opposed to this decision taken by the management of the French video game giant, with whom dialogue has already been tense for several months. “The social climate at Ubisoft is particularly scalded with unworthy negotiations on an incentive agreement and, in general, a permanent deafness from management,” denounced the STJV on X.
“After more than five years of working efficiently under the current teleworking framework, many of our colleagues have reorganized their lives and simply cannot return to the conditions before,” the union also said in a statement published on Thursday, describing the decision as an “arbitrary measure” imposed by management.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows release delayed to February 14, 2025
The announcement comes at a difficult time for Ubisoft, the group behind the hit franchises “Assassin’s Creed” and “Raving Rabbids,” whose stock fell more than 15% on Thursday. The publisher has pushed back the release of “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” to February 14, 2025 to “fine-tune” the game presented as the most ambitious in the group’s history. The release of the new installment of the famous saga was initially scheduled for November. This decision, combined with the disappointing performance of the game “Star Wars Outlaws,” forced the publisher to revise its financial targets downwards.
The employees’ anger adds to an already fragile situation for the company, which is facing increasing pressure from its shareholders, who are questioning the publisher’s strategy, particularly after a year marked by difficulties in meeting production deadlines.
Also on Thursday, Reuters reported that activist fund AJ Investments, which is pushing for a sale of Ubisoft, has secured the support of 10% of the video game publisher’s shareholders. The Slovakian activist fund, which owns less than 1% of Ubisoft’s capital, said it was in discussions with private equity firms. “We call on Ubisoft management to allow the sale of the company to third parties or private equity firms at a fair price,” AJ Investments said in the letter, which is expected to be made public later today.
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