Senator Elizabeth Warren has criticized Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to fight against the deal in the wake of recent layoffs across the gaming giant.
Senator Warren claims she had concerns about the merger’s impact on workers and competition before and took to Twitter to reiterate them. While the merger has officially closed, the FTC’s investigation remains ongoing. The commission aims to convince courts that the deal poses harm to competition and consumer choice within the gaming industry.
Three months after the merger’s closure, Activision Blizzard announced significant job cuts, with some suggesting Blizzard bore the brunt, facing project cancellations and team disbandments. Employees described the situation as a “bloodbath,” particularly at Call of Duty developer Sledgehammer Games, where estimates range from 25% to 30% workforce reduction. Microsoft also lost 10% of its workforce.
The truth is that 30% of employees are deemed ‘redundant’ during any merger or big buyout because these acquisitions bring in groups that don’t need as many employees. If you have two departments of 6 HR employees each coming together, you won’t need 12 after. The headcount doesn’t usually add up that way. The same goes for legal and many social media positions; others can just take those spots.
Unfortunately, that’s the hard truth, and while it is terrible that people lost their jobs, there was no avoiding at least some layoffs. Even though we hate to see it, this is probably one of the few times lately that a mass layoff was just a business decision and not exclusively a way to save money (which we have plenty of examples of this past year). Although, that’s not to say this wasn’t a way to save money.
A lot of these workers likely worked harder to make sure this deal went through. There may have been promises and pizza parties to keep Microsoft, Activision, or Blizzard from looking bad. Yet, if these employees knew they were working to lose a job, how many would really keep pushing? I sincerely hope they got a great severance package because it is very unfair to remove employees who worked hard to help the company only to get kicked out when the finish line was reached.
It’s important to note that Microsoft has yet to publicly comment on Senator Warren’s specific claims or the layoffs at Activision Blizzard. The company previously asserted that the merger would benefit the industry by expanding access to games and creating new jobs. We’ll have to wait and see when the part where we all benefit or win comes because it feels like everyone involved is getting hurt and losing.
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