There's still a lot that needs to happen at Activision Blizzard before the Xbox takeover can be considered a success. For those working at Activision Blizzard, CEO Bobby Kotick's involvement in the company is a top priority.
Kotick recently addressed his workforce in an internal meeting about the Xbox deal. Dubbed the "Fireside Chat", the CEO answered employee questions read by Chief People Officer Julie Hodges. Here's part of what he had to say:
"I can tell you that my commitment to the company is [to] remain in my role. Once the deal closes, what I’ve committed to Microsoft is I will stay as long as is necessary to ensure that we have a great integration and a great transition."
This comment, and Kotick's history with the company, led to concerns about his position during and after the transition. One anonymous employee spoke to The Washington Post about Kotick's involvement:
"All the fear and anger felt is still tied up in Bobby Kotick and what harm he will inflict until the torch is passed to Microsoft [...] He likened Activision to be as important as his children, and I feel like he will not let go of it. With no mention of the strike, the lawsuit or any of the continuing issues, there may as well have not been a Q&A at all. We could’ve read a press release and slept an extra 15 minutes."
So, it's clear that some of those working at Activision Blizzard are not entirely sold on the news, even if it's believed Kotick will indeed leave once the transition to Xbox is complete. Multiple employees were also said to be "suspicious" of his comment that "[Microsoft is] committed to trying to retain as many of our people as possible," believing it could potentially be an indication of upcoming layoffs.
Do you think Xbox will really change things at Activision Blizzard? Let us know in comments.
[source washingtonpost.com, via eurogamer.net]
Comments 22
Why would the layoffs be bad if Microsoft are getting rid of all the people who are contributing to the terrible company culture at Activision? Because that's how I perceive that, it doesn't make sense to acquire a publisher and lay off people immediately for no good reason. I don't remember that happening to ZeniMax after the acquisition.
If MS comes in and there are layoffs of non-managerial employees, that should cause massive backlash. I doubt it will happen, but you never know.
Yet again storm in a teacup ...the ****** has probably done it for this very reason , a little payback cause he knows his scumbag ass is soon going
Edit : according to other reports ( like kotaku) he even turned up late for this very meeting , no respect for his employees and i wouldn't blame acti if they fired his ass to the moon
This guy is gone - thanks to the upcoming buyout. Anyone that has criticized activision/ blizzard in the past for its intolerable work culture should be rejoicing
I love how every article I read about Bobby Kotick has the same picture in it of him just staring into your soul and smiling.😄
I'll never be able to unsee that picture!
@IronMan30 There are always layoffs in any consolidation of this size. Just considering business support functions, which would be duplicated within Microsoft, that will probably be ~10% of the total workforce at activision. Then there are probably some other functions and support teams in network services which could make it as high as 15%. Most of this initial hit won't touch developers, but there will still be layoffs, given the sheer size of activision.
@NG186 fair point, I was more talking about the devs, which I shouldn't silo them since Activision isn't solely comprised of dev teams and forgetting non-development staff is inconsiderate on my part. I doubt that will receive much (if any) coverage, so it will go unnoticed. And probably, MS wouldn't need to add to their marketing team or any other non-development areas, so there's that.
This isn't good for Microsoft, either.
If employees are very concerned about the Microsoft acquisition and don't have their concerns addressed, there could be a mass exodus of talent before Microsoft steps in!
I hope they make a movie about Bobby Kottick starring Jonah Hill as Kottick.
@IronMan30 I posed this thought on another forum. But doesn’t Microsoft have a lot of openings at other studios? If there was a need to shrink the workforce a little, could they move these employees to other studios? The Initiative down the road could use workers
As a company, Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming, among both employees and players. We deeply value individual studio cultures. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. We hold all teams, and all leaders, to this commitment. We’re looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard.
Statement of intent right there! They start of stating the 'core' belief at MS is inclusion and they 'value' every staff member and that they will treat 'everyone' with Dignity and Respect. They also state that as soon as they are in charge, they 'expect' every Microsoft employee (as they ALL will become) to adhere to that 'core' MS statement - whether you're 'just' a cleaner, a junior developer or head of a Studio, you will be expected to be 'fully' inclusive and treat everyone with Dignity and respect.
If things aren't 'in place' by the time the Xbox management take over, then they soon will be. If that means 'restructuring' some studio's due to allegations and work place culture, they will so they are literally telling Activision/Blizzard employees what MS's core belief is and that when they become MS employees, they MUST either already be adhering to that, or they will be 'restructured' to be proactively inclusive for ALL.
@xMightyMatt14x true, they probably could shuffle some of the dev staff around.
This guy is gone the moment the deal clears. Probably the one unambiguously good thing about this acquisition, even if he'll be leaving with tens of millions of dollars at minimum instead of in handcuffs like he deserves.
@Ralizah Hundreds of millions, but otherwise I wholeheartedly agree.
@themightyant I was afraid it might be way more than I was picturing. The world is an absurd place sometimes.
Getting rid of Kotick is definitively just a start. There are layers and layers of disgusting individuals throughout the company that need to be shown the door, regardless how big their accomplishments might be. Zero tolerance on discrimination and sexual harassment.
@Ralizah He reportedly has around 4 million shares which at Microsoft's $95 a share price would be around $380 million.
Plus he's likely to receive a golden parachute on top of that. 😞
The employees are dissatisfied with Kotick!? And water is wet.
I'm not so sure he is going to be leaving. Kotick looked pretty chummy with Phil in that interview. Activision isn't exactly "training" anyone to take over. Not yet anyways. And if the problems are dealt with, there shouldn't be any reason to eject Bobby, except to appease the bloodlust. Activision is a pretty big company and Bobby has successfully been leading it for the past 20 years, as much as it pains me to admit it.
@IronMan30
I could see MS assessing mangers and up to see if they suit the culture they are trying to create, but yes, lay-offs when you buy a publisher for $68.7 bln would be pretty dumb. They need more games from Activision-Blizzard to pay for this takeover, not less.
I have a hunch you only a couple of employees complaining to the press and it's making this out to be much bigger than it is. I know one guy that works out there and he has no clue who these people are. The few departments he works in are happy and have never seen or heard about any of these outraged employees.
Don't you just love that you can't trust anything anyone says in these times?
If he really was so bad and was threatening to kill employees and facilitating rape then how come nobody called the cops?
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