Although the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard has long been settled, the conflicts and chaos within Activision Blizzard have not yet subsided. The ABK Workers Alliance, which was recently established in 2021, tweeted that Activision QA employees in Minneapolis, Austin, and El Segundo received an email on November 30 announcing that hybrid work for QA employees would end in January.
At the same time, the ABK Workers Union also attached their statement on this decision to this tweet.
"With the announcement of hybrid working earlier this year, the job security of many QA employees is already in jeopardy," a statement from the ABK workers' union read.
"Since then, hundreds of employees have been communicating with accommodation teams trying to secure permanent home working arrangements due to disability, financial concerns or other factors. Many of these requests have been denied outright, and many more have been made in offices that are inadequate to meet employees' needs."
"This has resulted in many employees being forced to leave the company in soft layoffs. We believe that the removal of hybrid working will result in more employees being forced to leave the company and into desperate situations."
The statement also went on to mention that many employees live far away from the office, which also leads to commuting and financial pressures, as well as the impact on personal and family relationships.
The final statement notes how the company's remaining personnel will be affected by increased workloads, stress, and reduced product quality, concluding: "One-size-fits-all mandates hurt us all. Everyone loses: the company, the products, the players, and most importantly, employees. We firmly believe that the decision to work in-house or work from home should be made on an individual basis for each employee and with each employee's needs in mind."
Faced with the latest controversy between Activision Blizzard and the QA team, Activision Blizzard has not officially responded.