Microsoft said it would abide by any agreement if Activision Blizzard recognized the union.
That’s according to a statement to The Washington Post by Lisa Tanzi, Microsoft’s corporate vice president and general counsel.
“Microsoft respects the right of Activision Blizzard employees to choose whether to be represented by labor organizations, and we will honor those decisions,” Tanzi said.
Activision Blizzard employees tried to unionize with Raven Software and signed up with the Communications Workers of America. Activision-Blizzard, which has yet to acknowledge the agreement with the union, has hired Reed Smith, a law firm known for its union-busting, to deal with future developments.
In January, Microsoft announced plans to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion at $95 per share in an all-cash deal. The deal is expected to close in Microsoft’s fiscal 2023, once the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) completes a regulatory review to ensure the deal is not subject to unfair competition laws.
If the deal goes through, Microsoft will own Call of Duty, Warcraft, Candy Crush, Tony Hawk, Diablo, Overwatch, Spyro, Hearthstone “, “Guitar Hero”, “Crash Bandicoot”, “StarCraft” and more games IP. In the case of Call of Duty, Microsoft has assured players that it has no intention of pulling the community away from PlayStation with this acquisition, as it plans to keep the series on PlayStation consoles.
Things haven’t gotten better at Activision Blizzard since the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit in July over allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment. Recently, a current female employee filed another lawsuit against it, alleging discrimination and harassment.
