Ubisoft France Employees Are Planning to Strike

All Ubisoft employees in France have been called on to join a multi-day strike after the company recently announced a new return-to-office policy. Ubisoft has 1,000 workers in its Paris office alone, which it claims is the largest video game studio in all of France.

In September, VentureBeat reported that Ubisoft had notified employees of planned company-wide changes to work setups. Ubisoft, probably most known for its popular Assassin’s Creed games, said in an email signed by Chief Studios and Portfolio Officer Marie-Sophie de Waubert that it was looking to adopt a hybrid model for all its teams that would target at least three days of working in the office per week. A French union has since criticized the policy, claiming that it would do more harm than good to employees.

Le Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailleuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV), a French union for workers in the video game industry, urged all Ubisoft employees in France to express their anger over the company’s recently announced hybrid setup by conducting a strike from October 15 to October 17. Many at Ubisoft’s Montreal office became upset following the implementation of a similar return-to-office mandate last year. They were supposedly assured in the past that work could remain fully remote for a long time. According to the STJV, many people are already working efficiently years into the implementation of the current remote-work model and can no longer return to previous working conditions.

Ubisoft France October 2024 Strike

The global rollout of Ubisoft’s hybrid model could lead to the loss of jobs, disorganization of game projects, and an increase in psychosocial risks for employees who decide to remain at Ubisoft, the STJV claimed. In her email, de Waubert also acknowledged that the announced changes would likely impact the routines and lives of some employees. The statement, which was sent to employees right after the price of Ubisoft’s shares started to take a hit in early September, noted that workers would have time to adjust to the new setup.

Three demands have been put forward by the STJV, namely the establishment of a formal agreement between management and unions on remote work, an immediate increase in all salaries to balance out the drop in living standards over the years, and the facilitation of a social dialogue that would amplify the voices of employees. The STJV’s upcoming strike was announced right after profit-sharing negotiations between Ubisoft and its workers fell through.

Following a September 25 conference call with investors, Ubisoft announced that it would conduct an internal review in an effort to improve its operations. Ubisoft also revealed the softer than expected launch of Star Wars Outlaws and the postponement of Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ release to February 14, 2025.