Activision Blizzard shared their Q2 2021 financial results today with the public. During the earnings call, Activision Blizzard said that they had a "commitment to a safe working environment." They also promised that they would take "swift action to ensure a safe and welcoming work environment for all employees."
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said that "people will be held accountable for their actions." Here is a segment of his opening remarks to investors today.
"There is no place at our company where discrimination, harassment, or unequal treatment of any kind will be tolerated. Our work environment—everywhere we operate—will not permit discrimination, harassment, or unequal treatment. We will be the company that sets the example for this in our industry."
"People will be held accountable for their actions. That commitment means that we will not just terminate employees where appropriate, but will also terminate any manager or leader found to have impeded the integrity of our processes for evaluating claims and imposing appropriate consequences."
Perhaps some of the first steps that Activision Blizzard and Bobby Kotick can take would be to stop using the union busting law firm of WilmerHale, a request echoed by the newly formed ABK Workers Alliance. Perhaps they should also take a good look at firing upper management such as Fran Townsend, a torture apologist whom has taken to blocking Activision Blizzard employees on social media. Kotick himself should perhaps consider stepping down given his own prior involvement in sexual harassment, and for being the person in charge of the company where sexual harassment went unchecked for literal years. As the saying goes, "shit rolls down hill."
Activision Blizzard employees aren't exactly sold by today's statements from Kotick or Activision Blizzard with some of them calling it mere "lip service." Today's earnings call also made it clear that shareholders are still a major, if not top, priority for Activision Blizzard. The company made the following statement about the impact "adverse publicity" might have on them.
"If we experience prolonged periods of adverse publicity, significantly reduced productivity or other negative consequences relating to this matter, our business likely would be adversely impacted. We are carefully monitoring all aspects of our business for any such impacts."