Don't Nod workers are due to go on strike this Friday (November 8, 2024) following the announcement of the studio's layoff plan last month.
The picket line will be next to the studio's headquarters in Paris, the STJV union announced, with the rally scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Negotiations are underway after it was announced that 69 workers could be made redundant as a result of the reorganization plan. Employees have a number of requirements, including:
- That Don't Nod is leaving the layoff schedule
- So that employees have a voice in decision-making in the company
- For Don't Nod CEO Oskar Guilbert to be present at the meeting
Don't Nod workers also published an open letter about the studio's problems, saying management justified the layoff plan based on the economic context without looking at its own shortcomings and/or taking responsibility.
“As employees of this company, we know that these failures are due to a series of careless actions and bad decisions by management,” the letter said, as translated GamesIndustry.biz. “We have been warning management about these failures for years, but no one is listening. In the end, we are the ones paying the price today for these absurd decisions with the layoff plan.”
The letter went on to describe a strategy based on alleged “delusions of grandeur” leading to over-investment as well as “short-term thinking” at the company over the past few years. The document also highlighted that many employees left the company as a result of this situation, describing teams with few employees and difficult working conditions.
“We want to save the company, but not at the cost of unwarranted layoffs or a deteriorating working environment,” the paper concluded.
Don't Nod announced their layoff plan on October 16, with STJV then calling for collective action in response to the situation. Last week, it issued a strike call, saying that “the layoff plan is absurd, violent and will not save [the] company.”