Ubisoft’s Back-to-Office Mandate Sparks Employee Uprising: Stock Plummets to 11-Year Low Amid Wave of Strikes

After the new game “Assassin’s Creed: Shadowbringers” was delayed and its games transferred to Steam, there were reports from Ubisoft’s French headquarters that senior management wanted everyone back to work in October, and a three-day strike broke because previous Labor disputes.

It’s gotten even worse for Ubisoft as the company’s stock has fallen to 11-year lows on the London Stock Exchange. The drop comes a day after a delay was announced for Assassin’s Creed Shadows

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— Mike Straw (@mikestrawmedia.com) September 26, 2024 at 6:38 pm

According to the French union of video game workers (STJV)Announcement September 26As Ubisoft executives have asked all workers to return to the office and insist they come into the company three days a week, the union is unhappy that this decision was made without consulting representatives workers, and decided to call on workers to go on strike for three days from October 15th to 17th.

The French Video Game Union claims that remote work has been operating efficiently for five years after the epidemic Many people have adapted to the new order and live and work contentedly, and there is no way that they can return to their previous working conditions.

“Our employer is well aware of this, and his decisions will lead to the loss of our colleagues’ jobs, the displacement of several game projects, and more social and psychological risks for those who remain.”

The publication also mentioned that Ubisoft made this decision after a new round of labor negotiations with the Video Game Union The Video Game Union said that senior management had “turned a deaf ear” to the proposals of workers’ representatives who went on strike for three a day to express their anger and raise three major demands, including a remote working agreement, a wage increase and the restoration of 60% profit sharing, listening to the opinions of employees, etc.

This is not the first time that the French Video Game Association has launched a strike against Ubisoft’s French headquarters this year. As early as February this year, around 700 Ubisoft workers went on strike in Paris, Montpellier, Annecy, Lyon and Bordeaux. At the time, they The main demand is to increase wages.

The latest wave of strikes comes at a difficult time for Ubisoft. Sales of the recently released “Star Wars: Desperados” fell short of official expectations, while “Assassin’s Creed: Shadowbringers” was delayed until 2025, and the company even gave up on it. its future PC game The Epic Games Store’s limited-time limited strategy has been changed back to releasing on Steam on day one.

In early September, Ubisoft’s stock price fell below a 10-year low, with a drop of more than 50% during the year, which displeased shareholders At the end of September, the value of UBI in the hands of shareholders continued to evaporated, leaving less than one-tenth of the historic peak of 102 euros in July 2018.

The foreign media InsiderGaming reportedFaced with the recent decline, Ubisoft’s board of directors announced the launch of an internal review to adjust the future game release strategy, the way to interact with players, and for the benefit of stakeholders and shareholders However, Rome was not built in a day, and may not will be effective in the short term, especially for Wandu.