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Gaming giant Ubisoft has fired an employee who was previously suspended over his public criticism of the firm’s recent return-to-office (RTO) order.
David Michaud-Cromp, formerly a team lead on one of Ubisoft’s Level Design teams, announced on LinkedIn that he had been fired.
It followed a claim from the worker last week that he was suspended, without pay, after questioning his employer’s decision to bring staff back to the office five days per week.
Ubisoft issues RTO mandate amid restructuring
Ubisoft, known best for making games such as Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Just Dance, has embarked on a series of restructuring measures in recent months.
Attempts at saving $117million in costs led to the closures of its mobile studio in Halifax, Canada and Ubisoft Stockholm, alongside job cuts at its Abu Dhabi, Massive, and RedLynx studios.
This was followed by another restructuring announcement in late January, in which CEO Yves Guillemot outlined plans to deliver a further $234million worth of cuts over the next two years.
“We will also selectively close several studios and continue restructurings throughout the Group,” Guillemot stated. “While these decisions are difficult, they are necessary for us to build a more focused, efficient, and sustainable organization over the long term.”
The company also set out plans for a full return-to-office as a part of the new-look operating structure.
“To support the effective implementation and operation of this new model, the Group also intends to return to five days per week on site for all teams, complemented by an annual allowance of working-from-home days,” it confirmed.
The developer also revealed that it would be cancelling several games and delaying others.
Worker alleges firing for public criticism
Despite Guillemot’s message that the changes would “propel Ubisoft into its future,” the news was not welcomed by many employees, some of whom posted their frustrations on internal messaging boards.
“A full return to the office will only cause a significant amount of essential talent to leave the company, and nothing is being done to prevent this,” one developer wrote, suggesting that workers are suffering the consequences of errors made by top management.
Another said it was “probably the most embarrassed I have felt working somewhere.”
But one was more public with his critique. Michaud-Cromp took to social media after the RTO mandate was issued.
He wrote: “So... Ubisoft wanna bring back 5 days in the office... because they "believe in collaboration"... but c'mon, we're not completely stupid... we very well know why you want to go back to 5 days in the office...”
“Spoiler alert: it's not about efficiency or collaboration”, the team lead added.
Shortly after, the worker posted a second time, alleging that he had been suspended for three days without pay.
“The measure was presented to me as being related to public comments I expressed regarding the company’s return-to-office policy, and based on an alleged breach of the duty of loyalty,” he claimed.
On Monday, Michaud-Cromp posted again, writing that he had been terminated by Ubisoft with immediate effect.
“This was not my decision,” the post said.
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Ubisoft defends dismissal decision
In a statement shared with Kotaku, an Ubisoft spokesperson indicated the dismissal was justified due to a breach in company's Code of Conduct.
“Sharing feedback or opinions respectfully does not lead to a dismissal,” they said. “We have a clear Code of Conduct that outlines our shared expectations for working together safely and respectfully, which employees review and sign each year.”
“When that is breached, our established procedures apply, including an escalation of measures depending on the nature, severity, and repetition of the breach,” the statement continued.
The posts have drawn significant attention on LinkedIn, with some comments warning Ubisoft of a potential PR disaster around the incident.
The company has also had to combat significant backlash amid the timing of the Halifax studio closure, which came 16 days after it had unionized.
