Unionized workers at Bethesda Game Studios are organizing a series of rallies to protest recent mass layoffs that affected hundreds of their colleagues. The OneBGS union, affiliated with the Communications Workers of America (CWA), plans marches at the company's studios in Montreal, Canada; Rockville, Maryland; and Austin and Dallas, Texas on July 15.
The union stated that the company expects them to "accept this as a done deal and quietly disappear," but vowed that "we won’t let that happen." The planned "Save Our Devs March" aims to demonstrate management that the union is serious about protecting its members and preventing future actions of this nature.
The layoffs impacted 440 union positions across Bethesda and ZeniMax, according to OneBGS. More specific details revealed by WARN Act notices indicate that 96 employees were let go from id Software, 40 remote workers reporting to the Dallas studio, 22 at BGS Austin, 213 employees at ZeniMax Online working on The Elder Scrolls Online, and 166 at ZeniMax Media. These cuts are part of broader layoffs within Xbox, which saw approximately 1600 workers affected, and Microsoft overall, with about 4800 employees laid off. Further layoffs are anticipated at Xbox in the coming year, marking a trend of significant job reductions over the past three years.
Unions across Xbox have been seeking to negotiate terms for their affected members, reporting that contract negotiations have stalled in recent weeks. Earlier this week, OneBGS employees reportedly set up memorials for laid-off colleagues in common areas, only to be instructed by HR to remove them. Xbox has not yet commented on the situation.