Hope this kind of content is allowed in this commnity !

For context: CGT is the main union in France, this is an AMA run by union members of the CGT Ubisoft branch, but there are also other unions calling for a strike (STJV, Solidaires Informatique, CFE-CGC Fieci, CGT, Printemps Ecologiques)

Hello everyone,

We are members of the CGT Ubisoft, and today, we are available to answer your questions until the end of the day.

We are here to discuss everything related to our union experience at Ubisoft, working conditions in the video game industry, and the reasons that led us to call for a strike on October 15.

Do not hesitate to ask your questions, whether it is about the role of the union, the current situation at Ubisoft, or our recent actions. We are here to discuss and provide transparent answers.

We will try to answer most of your questions. However, we may not be able to answer those considered confidential

You can also find us on Instagram to follow our news: https://www.instagram.com/cgtubisoft/

I will translate questions / answers in a comment chain below

  • inlandempire@jlai.luOPEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    Q:

    OP, what is the internal morale of the teams (I’m talking about the field, obviously not the LinkedIn bullshit distilled by management)?

    A:

    Employees are very attached to their company. Their morale is starting to be attacked with the drop in living standards and the questioning of teleworking.

    • inlandempire@jlai.luOPEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      Q:

      Even if your goal is to protect employees and their jobs, don’t you think that there are too many people in some sectors of IT today? With covid and the world having switched to teleworking for 2 years, the number of jobs in tech has exploded, and companies have recruited en masse. Except that today demand is collapsing, and is facing a void, since the strong demand at the time of covid has now been satisfied. Meanwhile, shareholders are still on their cloud of illusions of permanent and infinite growth and are always asking for more.

      In short, we know very well who is at fault in this mess, but don’t you think that a reduction in certain jobs in tech is necessary?

      A:

      We are indeed very attached to job protection. During the COVID period, profits exploded and this is particularly true for video games, investors expected to have the same level of growth. This period has ended, and some of the investments from this period have not been absorbed by the market. This is part of the vagaries of investments. The video game market is still growing despite everything and is actually doing quite well.

      We don’t see why we should get rid of tech employees.

      • inlandempire@jlai.luOPEnglish
        1·
        2 months ago

        Q:

        Isn’t the return to on-site work just a disguised layoff plan, which would fit in with the wave of massive layoffs that the sector has been experiencing for some time? A little off topic: There are rumors of a buyout by Tencent (or at least a significant increase in their stake in Ubi’s capital), how do you feel about it internally?

        A:

        Decisions concerning the structuring of shareholding at Ubisoft are completely beyond the control of employees. We have no information on this subject.

        Q:

        How are the rumors of a buyout by Tencent perceived internally? Is the atmosphere the same as during the rumors of Vivendi’s purchases a few years ago?

        Given the recent critical success of the latest Prince of Persia (I don’t know if the game was profitable though), isn’t this a sign for Ubisoft’s management to trust its internal talents more to make more original games rather than wanting to jump on any trend (nft, service games, etc.) even if it means alienating certain developers and consumers?

        A:

        Employees follow the media on the buyout rumors, which worries them. Employees and ourselves are attached to the collective work of Ubisoft, which is a flagship of the French video game industry. We work to defend employment and our working conditions.

        What is new within Ubisoft is the union fact, which gives employees a voice and concrete action to defend their rights.

        • inlandempire@jlai.luOPEnglish
          1·
          2 months ago

          Q:

          Is there a way/effort to enlist colleagues from other countries? Or does the legal framework elsewhere make such action too risky?

          A:

          We represent French employees. But there are efforts being made in other countries to unionize. However, this is not our responsibility and we prefer not to go into this subject.

          Q:

          What was your position on the death of The Crew 1 video game, and the vague statements of the guy who said “players are going to have to get used to not owning their games anymore”? Were there any attempts to prevent the servers from being disconnected (which eventually happened)? In any case, it caused such a stir that Ivory Tower recently said they were going to implement an offline mode for The Crew 2 and Motorfest.

          A:

          We, who are also gamers, see, like you, that the pressure from the financial markets leads to decisions that do not serve the interests of players.