Activision Blizzard announced it is closing its office in Versailles, France, according to a new report from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. The office was responsible primarily for marketing, customer support, and localizing Activision Blizzard’s games to various languages for the European market.
The French office employed about 400 employees at the beginning of 2019, though that number decreased after Activision Blizzard cut 134 employees as part of its sweeping layoffs that took place the same year. It is not clear what will happen to the workers who were still employed at the French office, though it is likely many of them will lose their jobs if they are unable to be relocated to other offices. Activision Blizzard reportedly told the staff that they will learn more about the fate of their employment next week.
Activision Blizzard reportedly planned on moving half of the office’s employees to an office in London, according to Schreier, but those plans were apparently cancelled following complications caused the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit. French labor laws require companies to negotiate significant compensation packages from employees who lose their jobs in mass layoffs, and the 134 employees who were laid off last year received such packages. Any employee who is laid off following the Versailles office closure will likely receive similar treatment.
Activation Blizzard is making this closure as CEO Bobby Kotick faces criticism for his large annual salary. In June, one of the company’s investors urged others to block a measure that would increase Kotick’s pay rate, and alleged that Activision Blizzard’s employees typically earn less than one-third of 1 percent of his CEO’s earnings. Kotick has received $96.5 million in cumulative income from Activision Blizzard over the last four years, including $30 million in 2019 when the company laid off more than 800 employees.
U.S. Blizzard employees were reportedly sharing their salaries and organizing to seek better treatment and pay as recently as this August. The news of layoffs and demands for better pay coincide with accusations against CD Projekt Red for forcing its employees to work overtime on Cyberpunk 2077 when the developer previously promised not too.
The French office being closed has played an important role in Blizzard’s history. It was opened after the company was acquired by French conglomerate Vivendi SA in 1998, and supported Blizzard through the releases of titles including World of Warcraft, Diablo 2, and StarCarft, according to Bloomberg. The office then became part of Activision Blizzard after Vivendi’s game division merged with Activision in 2008.
The closure of the Versailles office spells the end of Activision Blizzard’s presence in France. It also marks the second European office that the company has closed this year, as the it also recently closed a Blizzard office in the Netherlands.
Source: Bloomberg
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