Following another round of mass layoffs and upheaval at Xbox Studios, Communications Workers of America has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Microsoft with the National Labor Relations Board. The CWA accuses Microsoft of bad faith bargaining, coercive actions, contract repudiation and failure to provide notice to employees, according to the charge posted on the NLRB website. The case was filed on July 15 in the United States, and CWA Canada is also taking legal action against Microsoft, as reported Game developer.
On July 6, Microsoft announced that it would immediately cut 1,600 jobs in its Xbox division, and planned to lose another 1,600 employees in the next fiscal year. The layoffs affected Activision, Blizzard, King, Mojang, Xbox Game Studios and ZeniMax, which covers Arkane, Bethesda, id Software, MachineGames and ZeniMax Online. Microsoft has also sold four Xbox studios – Compulsion Games, Double Fine, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs – and is reportedly considering closing Arkane. Microsoft laid off an additional 3,200 people beyond the Xbox division on the same day.
CWA represents hundreds of employees at Xbox Studios in the United States and Canada, and the union covers 3,500 people in the video game industry. Video game employees began unionizing efforts in earnest in late 2021, and Microsoft Studios led the charge in the AAA sphere.
CWA Canada specifically represents Bethesda workers in Montreal. On July 6, the union demanded fair treatment for the laid-off employees, writing in a press release: “Montreal workers who work on hit game franchises like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, among others, were shocked.
Before the layoffs were announced, Xbox union members publicly called on Microsoft to engage in transparent, good-faith negotiations. They accused the company of regularly neglecting union proposals, mismanaging resources and dragging its feet on worker protections.
“We are here to make it clear: These workers will not be treated as disposable workers,” said Frank Arace, CWA District 9 vice president. He argued that Microsoft had the money to support its Xbox teams and avoid layoffs, but chose to spend it elsewhere while bleeding creative talent and institutional knowledge.
Xbox employees at six studios in the United States and Canada protested the layoffs on Wednesday with a Save Our Devs rally.
“Our lawyers in the United States and Canada believe these firings are illegal and are therefore taking unfair labor practice actions against Microsoft on both sides of the border,” Simon Préfontaine, a union organizer and former Bethesda employee, was quoted as saying. Game developer. “We’re ready to do everything we can to get our members back to working on the games we love.”
