As part of its major organizational overhaul, Ubisoft has also been pushing for company-wide return-to-office mandate. This has led to criticisms from various employees, like lead of the level design team at Ubisoft Montreal, David Michaud-Cromp. In a LinkedIn post, Michaud-Cromp spoke out against the new mandate of employees needing to come into the office for 5 days a week.
“So… Ubisoft wanna bring back 5 days in the office… because they ‘believe in collaboration’… but c’mon, we’re not completely stupid… we very well know why you want to go back to 5 days in the office,” he wrote. “(Spoiler alert: it’s not about efficiency or collaboration)”
This, however, had led to Ubisoft punishing him by putting him through a three-day unpaid disciplinary suspension. In a follow-up post, Michaud-Cromp said the company cited his public comments about the return-to-office policy. More recently, however, the company has seemingly escalated his punishment by firing him.
“Today, I was terminated by Ubisoft, effective immediately,” he wrote in a new post. “This was not my decision. I won’t be discussing internal details or circumstances. I’m taking time to regroup and will share next steps when appropriate.”
In a statement to WCCFTech, Ubisoft said that Michaud-Cromp was fired due to him breaching a company-wide Code of Conduct that each employee signs every year. Refusing to comment further, the company noted it has established procedures that include escalation measures.
“Sharing feedback or opinions respectfully does not lead to a dismissal,” said Ubisoft in its statement. “We have a clear Code of Conduct that outlines our shared expectations for working together safely and respectfully, which employees review and sign each year. When that is breached, our established procedures apply, including an escalation of measures depending on the nature, severity and repetition of the breach. We won’t comment further.”
Ubisoft has been facing quite a bit of scrutiny from its employees as well as labor unions since its cancellation of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake and its offer of a “voluntary mutual termination agreement” for Ubisoft Paris.
French unions Solidaires Informatique, STVJV, and CFE CGC responded by asking employees at the Paris office to “stop working” if CEO Yves Guillemot enters the building during his planned visit today.
“It is time to make our boss understand that he is not welcome on our premises as long as he continues to mistreat his employees,” reads a pamphlet distributed by the unions. “We call on the employees of Ubisoft Paris to stop working if Yves Guillemot steps foot in our offices. Leave your desks, and gather in front of the building.”
Solidaires Informatique had also been on the forefront of criticizing Ubisoft’s “major organizational, operational, and portfolio reset”, referring to it as a “disastrous announcement.” Calling for a half-day strike last month, the union had three demands: maintaining remote working options for employees, “decent” pay raises this year, and an end to Ubisoft’s cost-cutting plans.
In the meantime, Ubisoft has also confirmed that the long-in-development Beyond Good and Evil 2 hasn’t been affected by its restructuring.