Dozens ‘exited’ Activision Blizzard over misconduct, CEO tried to keep departures quiet: report
MobileSyrup
Thirty-seven employees have “exited” from Activision Blizzard amid the gaming publisher’s workplace misconduct scandals, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing internal documents.
A further 44 employees have been disciplined, Activision Blizzard spokesperson Helaine Klasky told the outlet.
Since last summer, the company has been facing a lawsuit from California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleging years of fostering a “frat boy culture” that led to sexual harassment, unfair hiring practices and other forms of mistreatment of women.
However, given the ambiguity surrounding the word “exited,” it’s unclear exactly how many of those 37 people left voluntarily versus being pushed out. Likewise, Activision Blizzard wouldn’t specify exactly what form of disciplinary action has been taken against the 44 other employees.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that Activision Blizzard collected around 700 employee complaints who expressed concerns of workplace misconduct, although the company denied this to the outlet. Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard CEO, also reportedly shut down the release of a company report summarizing all of the above information to address the allegations. According to The Wall Street Journal, Kotick felt the report would make the company’s issues seem bigger than what has already been revealed.
Kotick himself has been the subject of immense scrutiny, especially following a November report from The Wall Street Journal alleging that he not only knew about the “frat boy culture,” but actively worked to keep it quiet. More than 1,000 Activision Blizzard employees quickly signed a petition calling for Kotick to resign, although the executive has said he would only consider doing so if the workplace issues aren’t fixed “with speed.”
Activision Blizzard is also facing a strike from dozens of developers at its Raven studio, which works on its massively popular Call of Duty: Warzone game. The workers were protesting the sudden termination of a dozen quality assurance (QA) contractors. The ABK Workers Alliance, which represents employees at Activision, Blizzard and King, has condemned the company for its “silence” over these protests.
All the while, Warzone players have been reporting numerous bugs in the game. Speaking to The Washington Post, multiple unnamed QA testers attributed these issues to the QA workers who were laid off from Raven. “You can’t just lose some of your hardest-working people and expect nothing to happen,” one of them told The Washington Post.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support the ABK Workers Alliance — you can check that out here.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Source: The Wall Street Journal
MobileSyrup
Thirty-seven employees have “exited” from Activision Blizzard amid the gaming publisher’s workplace misconduct scandals, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing internal documents.
A further 44 employees have been disciplined, Activision Blizzard spokesperson Helaine Klasky told the outlet.
Since last summer, the company has been facing a lawsuit from California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleging years of fostering a “frat boy culture” that led to sexual harassment, unfair hiring practices and other forms of mistreatment of women.
However, given the ambiguity surrounding the word “exited,” it’s unclear exactly how many of those 37 people left voluntarily versus being pushed out. Likewise, Activision Blizzard wouldn’t specify exactly what form of disciplinary action has been taken against the 44 other employees.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that Activision Blizzard collected around 700 employee complaints who expressed concerns of workplace misconduct, although the company denied this to the outlet. Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard CEO, also reportedly shut down the release of a company report summarizing all of the above information to address the allegations. According to The Wall Street Journal, Kotick felt the report would make the company’s issues seem bigger than what has already been revealed.
Kotick himself has been the subject of immense scrutiny, especially following a November report from The Wall Street Journal alleging that he not only knew about the “frat boy culture,” but actively worked to keep it quiet. More than 1,000 Activision Blizzard employees quickly signed a petition calling for Kotick to resign, although the executive has said he would only consider doing so if the workplace issues aren’t fixed “with speed.”
Activision Blizzard is also facing a strike from dozens of developers at its Raven studio, which works on its massively popular Call of Duty: Warzone game. The workers were protesting the sudden termination of a dozen quality assurance (QA) contractors. The ABK Workers Alliance, which represents employees at Activision, Blizzard and King, has condemned the company for its “silence” over these protests.
All the while, Warzone players have been reporting numerous bugs in the game. Speaking to The Washington Post, multiple unnamed QA testers attributed these issues to the QA workers who were laid off from Raven. “You can’t just lose some of your hardest-working people and expect nothing to happen,” one of them told The Washington Post.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support the ABK Workers Alliance — you can check that out here.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Source: The Wall Street Journal
By AFP
Published January 17, 2022
Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, has defended his handling of harassment complaints, as some employees staged a walkout calling for him to go - Copyright AFP Daniel ROLAND
The video game giant Activision Blizzard has fired nearly 40 employees and disciplined about 40 others since July as it deals with allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct, The Wall Street Journal said Monday.
The newspaper, which quoted people familiar with the situation, said that over the past seven months the company has also received about 700 reports of employee concerns over sexual assault or harassment or other misconduct, in some cases separate reports about the same incident.
A summary of the personnel action that the maker of “Call of Duty,” “World of Warcraft” and other blockbuster games has taken was scheduled to be released before the winter holidays, the Journal said.
But CEO Bobby Kotick delayed the release, arguing that it would make the company’s workplace problems look even bigger than they were known to be, the paper added.
Activision Blizzard did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
In July, California state regulators accused the company of condoning a culture of harassment, a toxic work environment, and inequality.
In September the Securities and Exchange Commission launched a probe into the company over “disclosures regarding employment matters and related issues.”
And two months later the Journal reported that Kotick, accused of mishandling the harassment complaints, has signaled he would consider stepping down if he failed to quicky fix the company culture. He has led the company for more than three decades.
Nearly 20 percent of Activision Blizzard’s 9,500 employees have signed a petition calling for Kotick to resign.
The Journal said the company is under pressure from shareholders and business partners for more accountability over its handling of misconduct issues.
Late last year chief operating officer Daniel Alegre pledged a 50 percent increase in female and non-binary staff over the next five years so that they will account for more than a third of Activision’s workers.
Activision Blizzard continues to remove employees amid misconduct allegations
Kris Holt
The game publisher was supposed to share a summary of that information publicly before the holidays, according to the report. However, embattled CEO Bobby Kotick is said to have pulled the plug on that over concerns it would make Activision's woes seem even worse.
The spokesperson denied "the assertion regarding Mr. Kotick," as well as claims that employees had filed around 700 reports of misconduct and other issues since July, when Activision was sued by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). The agency alleged the company fostered a "frat boy" culture where discrimination and sexual harassment were rife.
Former Blizzard president J. Allen Brack, who was accused in the DFEH suit of taking "no effective remedial measures" to mitigate sexual harassment, left the company soon after the filing. Activision Blizzard's top HR executive Jesse Meschuk has departed, as have Diablo 4 game director Luis Barriga, lead designer Jesse McCree (after whom an Overwatch character was previously named) and World of Warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft.
In November, the WSJreported that Kotick had known about many of the worst instances of abuse for years and that he may have protected some employees who were accused of harassment. Many Activision Blizzard employees staged a walkout in the wake of the report and around 2,000 signed a petition calling for him to step down. The Activision board has issued a statement of support for Kotick.
Along with employees, state treasurers and investors (the share price has dropped by almost 30% since July) have expressed concern about the issues at hand. Several Activision Blizzard partners have condemned the company or reassessed their relationships with it too.
PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo chiefs criticized the company in notes to their employees. Xbox head Phil Spencer said last week that Microsoft has "changed how we do certain things with" Activision, but didn't share details. Also this month, Lego postponed an Overwatch 2 set that was supposed to arrive in February while it evaluates its partnership with Activision Blizzard.
ENDGADGET
Since July, 37 Activision Blizzard employees have been fired or forced out and another 44 have been disciplined as the company attempts to address accusations of harassment and misconduct, a spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal. In October, the company said more than 20 people had departed and at least another 20 had been disciplined.
Since July, 37 Activision Blizzard employees have been fired or forced out and another 44 have been disciplined as the company attempts to address accusations of harassment and misconduct, a spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal. In October, the company said more than 20 people had departed and at least another 20 had been disciplined.
The game publisher was supposed to share a summary of that information publicly before the holidays, according to the report. However, embattled CEO Bobby Kotick is said to have pulled the plug on that over concerns it would make Activision's woes seem even worse.
The spokesperson denied "the assertion regarding Mr. Kotick," as well as claims that employees had filed around 700 reports of misconduct and other issues since July, when Activision was sued by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). The agency alleged the company fostered a "frat boy" culture where discrimination and sexual harassment were rife.
Former Blizzard president J. Allen Brack, who was accused in the DFEH suit of taking "no effective remedial measures" to mitigate sexual harassment, left the company soon after the filing. Activision Blizzard's top HR executive Jesse Meschuk has departed, as have Diablo 4 game director Luis Barriga, lead designer Jesse McCree (after whom an Overwatch character was previously named) and World of Warcraft designer Jonathan LeCraft.
In November, the WSJreported that Kotick had known about many of the worst instances of abuse for years and that he may have protected some employees who were accused of harassment. Many Activision Blizzard employees staged a walkout in the wake of the report and around 2,000 signed a petition calling for him to step down. The Activision board has issued a statement of support for Kotick.
Along with employees, state treasurers and investors (the share price has dropped by almost 30% since July) have expressed concern about the issues at hand. Several Activision Blizzard partners have condemned the company or reassessed their relationships with it too.
PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo chiefs criticized the company in notes to their employees. Xbox head Phil Spencer said last week that Microsoft has "changed how we do certain things with" Activision, but didn't share details. Also this month, Lego postponed an Overwatch 2 set that was supposed to arrive in February while it evaluates its partnership with Activision Blizzard.
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