Is the bleeding finally over for the once-dominant publisher or is this just the beginning of the end? Ubisoft has turned the knife inward by targeting its own Paris headquarters for a massive headcount reduction just days after decimating its global development pipeline. Management is proposing the elimination of up to two hundred jobs in the French capital through a voluntary departure scheme known as a Rupture Conventionnelle Collective to stabilize the company’s plummeting finances.
• Ubisoft proposes cutting 200 jobs in Paris
• The move targets the company headquarters
• It follows a week of global studio closures
This specific legal mechanism allows staff to agree to a collective mutual termination rather than facing immediate layoffs. Discussions have been initiated to reduce the eleven-hundred-strong workforce at Ubisoft International under French contracts without technically forcing anyone out the door yet. Negotiators must reach a collective agreement with employee representatives and receive validation from French authorities before a single person leaves their desk.
• Staff can agree to voluntary mutual termination
• The plan targets staff under French contracts
• Authorities must validate the final agreement
Tensions were already high in Paris following previous protests against return-to-office mandates and the mood has likely soured further. Executive leadership recently stipulated a return to a standard five-day office week alongside these restructuring efforts though sources suggest the job cuts were planned well before the attendance mandate was finalized. Silence remains regarding what steps the corporation will take if not enough employees volunteer to leave to meet the cost-reduction targets.
• Paris staff previously protested office mandates
• New rules require a five-day office work week
• Cuts were reportedly planned before the mandate
The proposed reduction serves as a grim aftershock to last week’s seismic announcement that saw the complete closure of studios in Stockholm and Halifax. Development teams at RedLynx and Massive have also faced restructuring while the long-awaited Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake was unceremoniously scrapped. One actress involved in the project revealed she discovered her three years of work had been erased only after reading about the cancellation on the internet.
• Studios in Stockholm and Halifax were shut down
• Prince of Persia remake was officially cancelled
• Actors learned of the news via the internet
Financial confidence in the publisher has evaporated as the stock plunged forty percent following the revelation that seven additional titles have been delayed. Speculation suggests one of the pushed projects is an unannounced remaster of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag which was expected to launch within months. Investors have watched the value of the company disintegrate with share prices now sitting ninety-five percent below their peak in January 2021.
• Seven additional game titles have been delayed
• Stock prices plunged 40% after the news
• Shares are down 95% from their 2021 peak
Via: IGN
