Ubisoft workers called for a strike in October over returning to work

France-based Ubisoft workers are being called on a three-day strike next month over a dispute over the company's return-to-the-office policy.

The strike was called by the French games workers' union STJV (Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailleuses du Jeu Vidéo) after management at Assassin's Creed publisher told employees that they would be expected to be in the office at least three days a week going forward would.

The union claims that this decision was made “without specific justification or consultation with employee representatives.”

GamesIndustry.biz I contacted Ubisoft. The company declined to comment.

“After more than five years of efficient work in the current remote work context, many of our colleagues have built or rebuilt their lives (family life, housing, parenthood, etc.) and simply cannot return to the previous working conditions,” STJV wrote in its strike call .

“Our employer is fully aware of this. The consequence of his decision will be the loss of jobs for our colleagues, the disorganization of many gaming projects and a drastic increase in psychosocial risks for those remaining.”

The union added that this return-to-office policy was due to failed profit-sharing negotiations in which the organization found management's proposals “unacceptable” while leadership was “deaf to the proposals of the various employee representatives.” .

A similar dispute apparently also occurred during salary negotiations.

Therefore, STJV is calling on all Ubisoft employees in France to strike from October 15th to 17th, 2024.

The union is demanding that Ubisoft introduce a formal remote work agreement based on negotiations between management and STJV, as well as an immediate increase in all salaries to “compensate for the decline in our living standards in recent years.”

The news comes just hours after Ubisoft revised its financial forecasts and delayed Assassin's Creed Shadows to February 2025, citing “learnings from the release of Star Wars Outlaws.” Following the release of this game, Ubisoft's stock price fell to its lowest level in a decade and has fallen by more than 50% in the last year.

The publisher is also launching an internal review “in light of recent challenges” to explore how the company can improve the way it publishes games, interacts with its players and delivers benefits to its stakeholders and shareholders.