Ubisoft has closed its Halifax studio simply weeks after 61 out of 71 workers voted to unionize.
The writer shared the information in an announcement to videogameaddicted at the moment, acknowledging that 71 positions had been affected and claiming that the transfer is a part of a broader two-year company-wide effort to “streamline operations, enhance effectivity, and scale back prices.” βWe’re dedicated to supporting all impacted workforce members throughout this transition interval with sources equivalent to complete severance packages and extra profession help,β the corporate added.
This comes three weeks after 61 Ubisoft Halifax workers voted to unionize with the Canadian Recreation and Media Staff Union, a part of Canada’s CWA (Communications Staff Union of America). The union was formally acknowledged six months after workers introduced their intention to unionize and after 74% of eligible workers, comprised of producers, programmers, designers, artists, researchers, and testers, voted in favor. This marked the creation of the primary Ubisoft union in North America.
Ubisoft insists that the closure of Ubisoft Halifax is unrelated to the union and is a component of a bigger restructuring and cost-cutting initiative, with declining revenues from Murderer’s Creed: Rise up, and that the corporate is ceasing operations as a part of this resolution. The corporate has undergone important layoffs lately, shedding workers en masse, closing studios and canceling a number of tasks amid a sequence of disappointing releases and declining income. Final yr, Ubisoft sought exterior assist, buying a 25% stake from Tencent and creating a brand new entity to handle Murderer’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six.
videogameaddicted reached out to Ubisoft Staff of Canada: Halifax and CWA for remark and acquired the next remark: “We’re shocked that one thing like this occurred, particularly so quickly after our union was fashioned. We’re contemplating all choices to battle for the rights of our members.”
Ubisoft Halifax started as a department of Longtail Studios, based in New York Metropolis in 2003 by Ubisoft co-founder GΓ©rard Guillemot, with branches added in Quebec and Halifax in later years. It was greatest identified for creating the Rocksmith sequence in addition to varied early cell and Nintendo DS video games. In 2015, Ubisoft acquired Longtail and adjusted its title to Ubisoft Halifax, permitting it to energy cell video games equivalent to Murderer’s Creed: Rise up and Rainbow Six Cell.
Two years in the past, we advised you in regards to the 2008-2009 unionization drive at Longtail Studios in Quebec that sources claimed was a reasonably public union-busting effort by administration that finally failed as a result of it included mass layoffs as a result of financial situations. The Lengthy Tail Each Halifax and Quebec had been ultimately built-in into Ubisoft within the following years.
Photograph illustration: Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Photographs/LightRocket (Getty Photographs)
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter at videogameaddicted. Do you’ve any story suggestions? Ship it to rvalentine@videogameaddicted.com.