Activision Blizzard plans to close its publishing offices in Europe and lay off even more employees in the process, according to a new report from GamesIndustry.biz.
In a statement provided to GamesIndustry.biz, a representative of Activision Blizzard explained that the play is due to the fact that players “increasingly choose to connect with our games digitally.”
“We have shared plans with our teams in Europe on how we would evolve as an organization, adapting to this change to serve our players and better positioning the region for future growth,” the statement continues. “We will take extensive measures to support all employees and facilitate the transition for our colleagues who may be affected by these proposed changes.”
This is the latest in several rounds of layoffs affecting Activision Blizzard staff over the past two years. In February 2019, the publisher announced that it would be reducing its workforce by 8%, or an estimated 800 people. Later that year, restructuring saw the loss of more than 200 more jobs. In 2020, the corporation Closed its offices in Versailles, France, and later earlier this week he made drastic cuts to its sports staff.
That hasn’t stopped executives from rejoicing and personally benefiting from Activision Blizzard’s recent growth, even as employees. protest against wage inequality. CEO Bobby Kotick is even scheduled to receive one $ 200 million bonus for publisher performance throughout the pandemic, while workers who really have to appreciate the success of Activision Blizzard are ruled out with $ 200 Battle.net gift cards.
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As usual, these and previous layoffs were not necessary. Activision Blizzard’s leadership could have easily gotten wage cuts or at least declined bonuses in favor of contributing to the payrolls of these now unemployed workers. But in the relentless mill of capitalism, CEOs and their fans are always the ones turning the wheel, happy to let hundreds and thousands of people suffer if it means getting their bread.