Game Workers Unite, a grassroots labour organisation, is calling for Activision Blizzard to fire its CEO Bobby Kotick. This is in response to almost 800 employees being laid off just as the company reported record financial results.
The irony is obviously not lost on the affected employees. They have also made their grievances known to the public through the Game Workers Unite Twitter account. And it’s a long string of tweets too, starting with this one:
Upending 800 workers' lives while raking in millions in bonuses for you and your c-suite buddies isn't leadership, it's theft.
We, the workers of Activision and their friends, have had enough. Join us in saying that it's time to #FireBobbyKotick. ✊🏿✊🏽✊🏾
— Game Workers Unite ✊🏿✊🏽✊🏾 (@GameWorkers) February 13, 2019
The string of tweets points out a few interesting bits of information, such as Bobby Kotick’s supposed pay of US$30 million (~RM122 million) a year. It also reminded us of Activision paying its new CFO US$15 million (~RM61 million) just for taking the job.
Of course, there’s the customary reminder that the late Satoru Iwata, former CEO of Nintendo, cut his own pay to keep employees during hard times. This is the complete opposite of the present Bobby Kotick, who is laying off employees during the best financial year of Activision Blizzard.
If we divided Kotick's obscene annual pay (one the highest paid CEOs in the world) it alone could pay full salaries for all 800 laid off workers. #FireBobbyKotick
— Game Workers Unite ✊🏿✊🏽✊🏾 (@GameWorkers) February 13, 2019
The string of tweets ends with this line, “The cycle of layoffs continue to derail our industry because of the prioritization of shareholder profits over workers lives and quality game development.” It’s a good point, but also a fact that won’t change easily. It’s still a business, after all.
(Source: Game Workers Unite / Twitter via Variety)
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