Employees at Bethesda Game Studios in Rockville, Maryland, were reportedly told by Human Resources to remove a small memorial dedicated to colleagues who were laid off earlier this week. The display featured photos of staff members who lost their jobs as a gesture of solidarity during a challenging time for the company.
This incident follows a significant wave of layoffs across Xbox's various divisions, including Bethesda studios. Thousands of jobs were cut across subsidiaries and studios such as id Software, Obsidian, and Activision, with further reductions anticipated over the next year. Bethesda Game Studios was among the divisions affected by these widespread cuts.
The Bethesda Game Studios Union shared on their official account that after employees in Rockville set up the "Celebration of Service" memorial on Wednesday morning, HR intervened. "Unfortunately, HR made our office manager take this down almost immediately," the union posted, relaying HR's explanation that the memorial had to be removed because it was located in a common area. The union noted that common areas have previously been used for various team activities, including fan works, and expressed surprise that a "Celebration of Service" was deemed inappropriate.
This situation occurs amidst ongoing concerns from union members within Xbox-owned studios regarding the pace of contract negotiations. While Xbox had pledged not to oppose unionization efforts at Activision Blizzard, union members have voiced complaints about slow-walking negotiations and contract talks, particularly concerning layoff protections.