Blizzard workers walk out over ‘abhorrent’ leadership
Hundreds angry about response to workplace claims exit Irvine offices
Several hundred employees at the gaming publisher Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine walked off the job Wednesday, protesting a hostile work environment they say company leaders have done little to change.
Workers and their supporters gathered outside the gates of the company, which has been sued by the state’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing for fostering a “‘frat boy’ workplace culture.”
In the lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles, the agency contends parent company Activision Blizzard looked the other way as executives sexually harassed women, and male employees openly joked about rape and drank alcohol while engaging in “inappropriate behavior” toward women at their cubicles during events known as “cube crawls.”
On Tuesday, Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick sent an all-staff letter in response to the planned walkout, calling the company’s recent actions “tone deaf.”
In his email, Kotick said he hired the law firm WilmerHale to conduct a review of its policies and promised “swift action” to stamp out harassment.
The lawsuit, the culimination of a two-year probe of allegations by employees, also claims women are routinely paid less than men for similar work and are less likely to be promoted.
Activision Blizzard called the allegations false and distorted in a statement last week. Fran Townsend, executive vice president for corporate affairs, sent a letter to staff echoing that claim, which ultimately spurrred the one-day walkout.
On Wednesday, the company issued another statement, promising not to retaliate against those who left their desks to protest.
“We are fully committed to fostering a safe, inclusive and rewarding environment for all of our employees around the world. We support their right to express their opinions and concerns in a safe and respectful manner, without fear of retaliation,” the statement reads.
Elsewhere online, fans sought to organize a boycott of Activision games in solidarity with employees.
“You can support #ActiBlizzWalkout by not playing their titles,” Twitter user Shannon wrote. The post garnered more than 2,300 retweets and over 5,000 likes.
In the comments of her tweet, other users suggested not logging into games or uninstalling them.
Blizzard game titles include World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo and Starcraft.
In Irvine, employees marched with signs that read “I wish compensation was as transparent as corporate placation” and “every voice matters.”
More than 2,000 Activision Blizzard employees signed an open letter calling the company’s responses “abhorrent and insulting.”
Blizzard employees are demanding Activision ditch mandatory arbitration clauses; bring new practices for recruiting, interviewing, hiring and promotion that facilitate better representation; publication of data on relative compensation, promotion rates and salary ranges for employees “of all genders and ethnicities at the company.”
They also want the company’s diversity task force to hire a third party to audit the company’s leadership, hierarchy and HR department.