The last 12 months have been rough for Ubisoft. From a large wave of canceled games to falling share prices and portfolio restructuring that made Charlie Guillemot a co-CEO of Vantage Studios, and firing a long-time employee for protesting the company’s bad decisions, Ubisoft has made the news lately for not-too-good reasons.
Two Ubisoft union representatives recently spoke to Game Developer where they said it was impossible for the employees to trust the company management under the leadership of long-serving CEO, Yves Guillemot.
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Solidaires Informatique representatives, Marc Rutschlé and Chakib Mataoui, who work at Ubisoft Paris, said the company’s staff felt betrayed by top management following the sweeping “reset” that saw studio closures and game cancellations. Several employees were also shocked by the company’s return-to-office (RTO) mandate that required employees to work on-site five days a week.
Ubisoft will conclude its €500 million cost-reduction plan in 2028, and many employees are questioning why Guillemot was still in charge, according to several messages posted in the company’s internal communications platform Agora, as sighted by Game Developer.
“It’s his company, at the end of the day,” Rutschlé said. “But everyone around him are just yes men. That was also the issue during the sexual [harassment] scandal in 2020.”
“Sure. I expect nothing from this guy,” was the blunt response from Rutschlé when he was asked if he would like to see a change in leadership at Ubisoft. The same sentiment was shared by Mataoui, who questioned the motive behind appointing Charlie Guillemot as co-CEO of Vantage Studios.
“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,” Mataoui said. “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.”
Criticisms of Ubisoft’s return-to-office policy
Several Ubisoft employees have been vocal about their displeasure with the company’s recent RTO mandate. Many believe it is a total disregard for the livelihood and well-being of employees.
“Most [employees] were very, very panicked by the [RTO] announcement because they started their lives very far from Paris and from their studios—and now they’re being asked to come back knowing that their paycheck doesn’t help with living in the Paris area,” said Mataoui.
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Rutschlé added that many employees nurse a feeling of impending doom following the RTO policy. The union representatives argued that the mandate may cost employees who have families or recently purchased new homes their jobs.
“We asked them for documentation or analysis that showed a link between production or creativity with the return to the office. They had none,” Rutschlé said. “So, it’s like ‘okay, let’s do that then.’ As a union representative, I’m like ‘what the f**k, man?’”
Ubisoft employees have voted to strike against the proposed layoffs at the company. The strike, which will affect members of the France-based unions and international counterparts, is planned for February 10 to 12.
Is improving the relationship between employees a justified reason to ask employees to return to the office? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
