Activision Blizzard Workers Demand CEO Resign
Activision Blizzard is not doing well. The company's employees are demanding the CEO resign!
This article is more than 2 years old
Following last week’s walkouts by Activision Blizzard employees, in protest of Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, the ABK Workers Alliance began circulating a petition demanding Kotick’s resignation. ABK Workers Alliance justifies the petition by stating that it has lost confidence in the leadership of Bobby Kotick, making the petition available to all employees working at Activision Blizzard studios or offices. So far, the petition has been endorsed by over 1200 Activision Blizzard employees.
According to Kotaku, the ABK Workers Alliance isn’t running an anonymous operation either. Instead, they’re discussing a public record where each supporting worker puts their name, studio, and career on the line in support of the statement, condemning Kotick’s behavior and demanding his immediate resignation. You can read the entire statement below:
“We, the undersigned, no longer have confidence in the leadership of Bobby Kotick as the CEO of Activision Blizzard. The information that has come to light about his behaviors and practices in the running of our companies runs counter to the culture and integrity we require of our leadership—and directly conflicts with the initiatives started by our peers. We ask that Bobby Kotick remove himself as CEO of Activision Blizzard, and that shareholders be allowed to select the new CEO without the input of Bobby, who we are aware owns a substantial portion of the voting rights of the shareholders.”
As previously stated, the aforementioned petition has already gathered over 1200 signatures, which accounts for approximately 12% of Activision Blizzard’s workforce. A seemingly unremarkable number, considering the magnitude of accusations against Kotick, which include blatant behavior towards the company’s employees, neglect towards various reports of sexual misconduct and gender discrimination within the company, and active participation in making those same reports vanish under the rug.
However, 12% of the company’s total workforce is actually a pretty impressive figure, considering that workers are putting their names, jobs, and careers on the line by signing ABK Workers Alliance’s petition, condemning Kotick’s alleged actions, and demanding his immediate resignation. But that’s not all. In response to massive public support, during which gamers boycotted Activision Blizzard games by staging sit-ins and massive log-offs, ABK Workers Alliance also made a public petition that fans can sign in solidarity. At the time of writing, the public petition has already gathered over 27,000 signatures from fans who support the ABK Workers Alliance and wish to see Kotick gone from the company.
The ABK Workers Alliance was formed in response to the company’s allegedly unfair treatment of its employees following the initial lawsuits mentioned above. The group stepped up to organize the collective actions taken in response to the initial lawsuit allegations – especially calling into question Activision Blizzard’s hiring of an alleged union-busting law firm that now represents the company. Besides demanding Kotick’s immediate resignations, the ABK Workers Alliance also wants to promote the employee-chosen candidate to replace Kotick. A bold move, considering that employees rarely have a say in who the company’s CEO will be, but given the scope of change they already battled for and won, the ABK Workers Alliance might, once again, get things done in their favor.
