Activision Blizzard employees step back and call for CEO Bobby Kotick to step down

Activision Blizzard employees are quitting their jobs – virtually, from home and in person in the Blizzard Entertainment offices – according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal. Workers are calling for CEO Bobby Kotick to step down after the Journal reported that Kotick not only knew about employee misconduct – including alleged rape – but minimized its gravity for Activision Blizzard employees and the board of directors. The report also described former Blizzard co-chief Jen Oneal’s exit after she reportedly lost faith that the company could reverse its toxic culture.

“We have our own zero tolerance policy in place,” said Activision Blizzard employee tweeted from the Twitter account of the ABK Workers Alliance on Tuesday. “We will not be silenced until Bobby Kotick is replaced as CEO and we continue to adhere to our original request for third party verification by an employee selected source. We’re having a walkout today. We warmly welcome you to join us. “

Across the company, hundreds of Activision Blizzard employees and contract workers left work on Tuesday lunchtime. More than 150 people protested on the Blizzard campus in Irvine, California, and dozens more outside of Activision Blizzard’s quality assurance office in Minnesota. In Irvine, a diverse group of workers and supporters gathered at the front gate of the office on Blizzard Way, some in tents and on blankets holding up signs. Some wore Blizzard gear, such as shirts with a rainbow “Blizzard” on them.

Several employees told Polygon that they are disappointed and frustrated of the company and the response of the board of directors to the report of the journal, which the Call of Duty and Overwatch The editor said it was “a misleading view by Activision Blizzard and our CEO”. Workers also post on social media to support the strike and call for Kotick to step down.

“Honestly, [the weight of Bobby’s words] felt threatening in many ways, “Blizzard employee Valentine Powell told Polygon during Tuesday’s strike. “He understands that he is responsible for the livelihood of so many people who are try ing to make our businesses better, who are trying to promote the cultures we want to see. And he’s up there and he says, ‘If you don’t believe in me, something is wrong with you.’ His actions have not shown what he is proposing. “

Another Blizzard employee, Jessica Gonzalez, added that Activision Blizzard employees have had enough of the current situation.

“The workers are just very tired,” she said. “We’re just fed up with being misrepresented, mistreated and mistreated. Something has to change. You can move people as you like, but if the responsibility doesn’t come from above, that won’t change. “

In a statement e-mailed to Polygon, an Activision Blizzard spokesperson told Polygon that the company “is fully committed to promoting a safe, inclusive and rewarding environment for all of our employees around the world”. The spokesman said workers are free to “express their opinions and concerns in a safe and respectful manner without fear of retaliation.”

Activision Blizzard was sued in July by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) after a two-year investigation into the company’s alleged “frat boy culture”. Several top executives, including former Blizzard President J. Allen Brack and CEO Kotick, were named in the lawsuit because they know and enable the behavior.

Brack resigned shortly after the lawsuit was filed, but the extent of Kotick’s knowledge of the problem wasn’t made public until the Journal’s bombshell report on Tuesday. In addition to the DFEH lawsuit, Activision Blizzard was sued by shareholders in August, and in September the company agreed to a $ 18 million settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to resolve another matter.

The Journal reported that Kotick himself is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for his knowledge of these incidents and what he has shared with “other employees, the board of directors and investors.”

Allen & Co. holds its annual Sun Valley Conference in Idaho

In late July, ahead of a company-wide strike, thousands of current and former employees signed an open letter to executives protesting grave allegations of sexism and harassment at the game company. Workers were also angry at the company’s initial “deaf” response to allegations, which executives described as “skewed and, in many cases, misrepresentations of Blizzard’s past”. Workers presented claims in an open letter released days after the lawsuit.

“We believe that our values as employees are not properly reflected in the words and deeds of our leadership,” said the protest organizers at the time in a statement sent to Polygon. The workers called on the company to “improve conditions for employees in the company, especially women and especially women of color and transgender women, non-binary people and other marginalized groups”.

In October, Kotick finally responded to some of these demands, introducing a “new zero-tolerance harassment policy,” and abandoning the compulsory arbitration the company uses to deal with complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination. Kotick also said at the time that he would take a huge cut, cutting his annual salary from $ 875,000 to $ 62,500; it had already been reduced from $ 1.5 million earlier this year. The Journal reported that Kotick announced these measures after its reporters contacted the company with questions that led to Tuesday’s report.

Workers / supporters hold a sign that says

The Wall Street Journal also said that Kotick himself authored the controversial letter sent to employees by Frances Townsend, Chief Compliance Officer of Activision Blizzard, describing the DFEH lawsuit as “skewed and untrue”. In addition to Kotick’s resignation, workers also urged Townsend and Chief Administrative Officer Brian Bulatao to leave the company.

“We have to trust our leadership,” Powell said at the strike on Tuesday. “To a certain extent, we trust our direct leadership – the people we work with on a daily basis trying to solve the problems. But when it comes to Activision Blizzard, they keep losing trust in us. You keep denying claims. They keep telling us that we are wrong. […] But in the end we need systemic change. We need the ability to have transparency about what is happening. ”