It would be rough for sure, but it prevents both sides from being screwed like they are in America now.
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Kotaku: Activision Blizzard begins massive layoffs (Offering "Comprehensive Severance Packages" to affected)
- Thread starter Deleted member 18944
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It would be rough for sure, but it prevents both sides from being screwed like they are in America now.
Yes, some people do lose their idealism, but others also gain the experience of being laid off themselves. It sounds like you've been through a lay off, as have I. Its unjust to lose your job through no fault of your own, especially when the company was unsuccessful at meeting an metric (maybe one that was unrealistic) while having concrete success. I hear that the severance packages are legitimate though, which is a lot more than what I got. Taken me years to recover after a lay off.
Enthusest forums for hobbies are generally filled with money, and Era isn't at the level of a place like HardOPC or Overclock.net though.
Is not that deep fam. They are not breaking human rights law on some Foxconn shit. They got all types of benefits for working there. Stop acting like this is some heinous act. They got fired from a company they do not own. It happens every day. Don't like the system, change it.
Any chance we can start a thread shortlisting all those affected with LinkedIn profiles/resumes (if they of course consent to being spotlit like that) so that we have an easily accessible directory for other devs to give them targeted job offers?
I'd like for all of these people to have access to new (and relevant) work ASAP.
Fuck Activision forever, and fuck that new CFO.
I'd like for all of these people to have access to new (and relevant) work ASAP.
Fuck Activision forever, and fuck that new CFO.
Well this company did break records so apparently that is not even enough.
4 weeks til the 15th or the end of the month if you're a worker.
For the company::
2 weeks if your in probation
4 weeks til the 15th or the end of the month if you work there for less than 2 years
1 month til the month end if you work there for 2 years
2 month til the month end if you work there for 5 years
3 month til the month end if you work there for 8 years
4 month til the month end if you work there for 10 years
5 month til the month end if you work there for 12 years
6 month til the month end if you work there for 15 years
7 month til the month end if you work there for 20 years
Of course, based on the contract or collective agreement the period of notice can expand
Guys, I think nobody here seriously is going full commie for what is happening. I'm pretty sure you all should know by now that without capitalism, there's no games industry. That said, we can clearly see with all this things "not meeting expectations" ever, the system is clearly, undeniably FUCKED. There's not much we can do to change it, but fuck it, bitching is free, and appropiate for this case.
The positive person in me just hope that this will be finally the light that can ignite a true, big unionizing movement in the industry. I'm begging for something positive to come out of this this year.
The positive person in me just hope that this will be finally the light that can ignite a true, big unionizing movement in the industry. I'm begging for something positive to come out of this this year.
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Not sure if you're ever been in a management position or not - but having am employee who obviously doesn't want to be there is ridiculous - not to mention the potential complications.
I'm okay with an employee walking off the job if the alternative is to keep the employee for an additional 2-4 weeks during which I have to oversee their every move; insulate the rest of team from that employee; make sure that the employee does not have access to sensitive data, etc.
in that case i'm quite frankly taken aback at your callous writeoff of upset people in this thread being idealistic college students! have a good one
Yeah I know, my initial company was bought to be closed, it's really not a great feeling.
Do you know why some people are reacting like this? Because it's Blizzard?
It's not about knowing right and wrong, rather to know the background.
Do you have a private pension fund or any other savings? Than you're a part of the problem, just check the shareholders. If one person wants a yacht/mansion/private jet, that is managable. If 10000 wants a few decades of careless retirement in florida, that requires some serious measures.
I'm not defending corporations, just pointing out that the 'little people' are just as greedy.
On the extreme flip side I've been working with folks in KSA (Saudi Arabia) a lot and they can get fined or put in jail for quitting their jobs or being delinquint.
Terrifies me.
Its because its blizzard. Also, rumors building for a long time about these layoffs.
Also there are many people who not only follow the industry and deeply enjoy its output but people who have worked in games either in the past or currently.
"On the earnings call, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick told investors that the company had "once again achieved record results in 2018" but that the company would be consolidating and restructuring because of missed expectations for 2018 and lowered expectations for 2019."
I've re-read this multiple times and hate it a little more each time.
Best year ever? Awesome, but we thought we'd do even better so here's your pink slip.
I've re-read this multiple times and hate it a little more each time.
Best year ever? Awesome, but we thought we'd do even better so here's your pink slip.
it's more visible because it's blizzard but this is an industry-wide problem. scratch that, it's a universal problem.
this shit's broken. maybe this is the first time some people are realizing it, but these reactions aren't appearing magically out of nowhere. people are pissed and rightfully so and have been for years. decades, centuries, etc
This isn't broken. I know it sounds horrible but this isn't a break in the system. It's literally the point of the system. A capitalist society demands constant growth because that's how the markets determine the most optimal places to invest. There's only a finite amount of investment to go round after all.
And for all it's flaws (executive pay being a huge one!), it's proven way more efficient and effective than literally every other system we've tried in history.
And for all it's flaws (executive pay being a huge one!), it's proven way more efficient and effective than literally every other system we've tried in history.
Electing a Democratic majority in the House is a hopeful start.
https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/art...ecord-revenue-as-they-fuck-over-800-employees
Waypoint hitting the nail on the head.
Waypoint hitting the nail on the head.
Right, but a good company that just came off a record year would keep people around if they projected a rebound, even if the coming year was looking a little light. The 2019 slate might be light, but what about 2020? Why not keep the people around that propelled you to a record 2018?
I understand why the cuts are being made, but I still hate how short-sighted it is, and how ungrateful the company comes off.
If around 800 ATVI/BLIZ employees were terminated, I wonder how many contractor were also let go today? Contractors do not get the nice severance packages that actual employees do and usually make minimum wage, while making up the majority in Quality Assurance and Customer Service departments. Also contractors assist in production, various analysis groups, and administrative services all of which were targets for layoffs.
Seeing a lot of local studios voicing support for those laid off by pointing to their own hiring managers/open positions sites (which is great and all), but in taking a quick look at some of these open positions seem to miss that the fact that the folks most vulnerable to being laid off from ATVI are not in a strict sense game developers (as in engineers/designers/art/etc.) but other roles not represented on these hiring pages (such as QA/Admin/Prod/Marketing/etc).
Seeing a lot of local studios voicing support for those laid off by pointing to their own hiring managers/open positions sites (which is great and all), but in taking a quick look at some of these open positions seem to miss that the fact that the folks most vulnerable to being laid off from ATVI are not in a strict sense game developers (as in engineers/designers/art/etc.) but other roles not represented on these hiring pages (such as QA/Admin/Prod/Marketing/etc).
The overall market has recovered significantly since bordering on a bear market on Christmas Eve.(21,700 and 19% drop since it reached the high point.). Now it's gained back the majority of that loss and sits well over 25k.
NASDAQ as well has recovered much since the low. Unfortunately Activision Blizzard has continued to have sharp decline though and hasn't bounced back like many others.
thoughts to out to those who lost jobs. Hope they find new ones quickly.
It doesn't have the same effect if they had said instead,
"Activision forecasts massive plunge in revenue and profits to multi-year lows as they..."
I mean, it's basic economic theory. It's the whole point of the stock market - to allow investors to invest in what they believe to be the most profitable companies.
And in terms of other systems, western democratic capitalist societies have performed better than any other for allocation of resources (capital). What's the alternative? State planning ala eastern block socialism? Authoritarianism? State capitalism? The co-opting of private and national industry by the military as we see in Iran, Venezuela?
Given that the default state is not buying a game, I think that loudly advocating for unionization and for gaming media to spotlight worker conditions is a more effective venue.
It's only gained back like a little over half the losses since October. So, like I said, not fully recovered since October.
User Warned: Trolling
Welcome to ResetEra. Everyone is a perfect, amazing employees at all these game companies.
Honestly looking at their current catalog of disappointing games you might find yourself in an incidental boycott. Are there any Acti/Blizz games you currently play a lot?
It's only gained back like a little over half the losses since October. So, like I said, not fully recovered since October.
Yeah. It still has a way to go but certainly the market overall has significantly recovered.(Especially Dow Jones). However, Activision Blizzard was not seeing any recovery and continued to decline overall.
This is so crazy. Good luck to everyone affected.
I really think Activision need to be trying their hand at new IPs at the moment. Instead of laying off these 800 people (especially when the company has just recorded record profits), split them into 2 teams of 400 devs and give them a year to come up with a prototype new game, or rejuvenate an old one like Singularity, True Crime or Prototype (pun not intended). New IP are vital to a publisher's health and I really think they have a bad long-term strategy.
I really think Activision need to be trying their hand at new IPs at the moment. Instead of laying off these 800 people (especially when the company has just recorded record profits), split them into 2 teams of 400 devs and give them a year to come up with a prototype new game, or rejuvenate an old one like Singularity, True Crime or Prototype (pun not intended). New IP are vital to a publisher's health and I really think they have a bad long-term strategy.
Dow Jones is basically useless as an index outside of its self perpetuating hype.
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/01/04/508261371/episode-443-dont-believe-the-hype
Comprehensive severance packages, bonuses for upstairs and now they're gloating about profits.
I don't want to be a part of this industry anymore.
I don't want to be a part of this industry anymore.
I think this is a bit odd. Companies shouldn't be required to have make-work departments. If Starcraft eSports is in the red, Activision Blizzard has no obligation to keep funding it. I would think a lot of their earnings come from the development side and they weren't making it back in areas like eSports. Like, Overwatch is declining, so I wouldn't be surprised to see the Overwatch League scrapped eventually unless they do a massive turn around.
Like, World of Warcraft's subscriber base is dropping but they are making a lot of money through in-game shop, tokens, etc. but overall players are down so there isn't a need for the same amount of customer service or community managers as it's dwindling.
It's proven way more efficient and effective at heading humankind towards its own destruction, yes.
Mass layoffs have no relation to individual employee performance.
And Davidson and Associates before that. They made educational games and wanted to expand the bought Blizzard when they were Silicon and Synapse I believe.
This site can be so weird, people are pissed with Activision for laying people off. In the Anthem thread people are dancing around hoping and praying bioware gets shut down for dare making a game they dont like.
i really don't need your econ 101 syllabus thanks. there is zero reason for me to engage with you seriously on this I just find it profoundly funny that you waltzed into a thread about a catastrophic failure of the system to provide for its people to defend it
And then apparently people are going to boycott A/B for this - I wonder how that'll turn out for headcount.
They laid off many developers today, not just people in charge of e-sports, customer service, community managers, etc. Entire studios were shut down.
How were those studios financially? Were they in the green? What was their projected growth?