Some team members working at Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege support studio Ubisoft Barcelona are going on strike through July to protest mass layoffs across all of Ubisoft's studios. The strike will seemingly only take place every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from June 30 through to July 17.
Earlier in June, Ubisoft announced that they were letting go of roughly 380 people as part of their ongoing restructuring. The biggest impact from this latest restructuring effort hit Ubisoft Barcelona particularly hard. In total 51 employees from Ubisoft Barcelona were laid off, which was 28% of the studio's entire workforce. Not only were employees laid off but the entire studio was basically turned into a support studio for Rainbow Six development. Prior to being reduced to a mere support studio, the Barcelona location was responsible for the development of games such as Rayman Raving Rabbids and Star Trek: Bridge Crew. They also worked on titles in the Assassin's Creed franchise, including the upcoming Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced.
The strike is being organized by La Confederación General del Trabajo. The Spanish union body has sent out announcements about the strike to Spanish-language outlets such as Hobby Consolas, which was then picked up by Insider Gaming. The strike is focusing on addressing the following demands:
New Continuity Mandate
Guarantee of continuity through the binding negotiation of a new mandate for the studio, that ensures the permanence of the 51 affected employees.
Job Protection
Firm commitment to shield the workforce against future collective dismissal processes (EREs) for a minimum of 5 years.
Execution of Promotions
Strict and immediate compliance with the agreed internal promotions unilaterally paralyzed by the company.
Reinstatement of WFH
Unconditional return to the remote work model with 60% monthly working from home (WFH) to ensure effective work-life balance.
Career Development Pact
Unblocking and formal review of the salary improvement plan, as well as the workforce’s social benefits package.
Guarantee of continuity through the binding negotiation of a new mandate for the studio, that ensures the permanence of the 51 affected employees.
Job Protection
Firm commitment to shield the workforce against future collective dismissal processes (EREs) for a minimum of 5 years.
Execution of Promotions
Strict and immediate compliance with the agreed internal promotions unilaterally paralyzed by the company.
Reinstatement of WFH
Unconditional return to the remote work model with 60% monthly working from home (WFH) to ensure effective work-life balance.
Career Development Pact
Unblocking and formal review of the salary improvement plan, as well as the workforce’s social benefits package.
