Ubisoft is facing yet another wave of criticism over accusations of toxic work culture. As outlined by French publication Le Télégramme earlier this month, the company, despite being exposed last year by current and former employees for failing to address harassment and sexual misconduct in the workplace, has done very little to improve the situation.
Changes that have been made did poorly in facilitating positive restructuring, the report states, with particular grievances levelled at the publisher’s HR department. Staff members who handled the initial complaints are still in work, it says, with one high-profile departure so far being that of HR director Cécile Cornet. Unsurprisingly, the revelations have resulted in huge controversy and prompted #HoldUbisoftAccountable to start trending on Twitter.
In a lengthy thread on the social media site, user Joe “FoundedScarab” records several high profile movements aimed at getting female employees better representation as well as videos made by industry critics such as Jim Sterling, who documents instances of complacency as well as attempts from upper management at concealing the brewing scandal.
https://twitter.com/FoundedScarab/status/1395412247166476288
Whether the collective voices of thousands putting pressure on Ubisoft will ultimately be the vehicle of change needed to weed out such deep-rooted poison remains to be seen, of course, though with Le Télégramme stating that other senior staff such as Florent Castelnerac and Hugues Ricour – both of whom have been accused of misconduct – still retain the same or different positions, one can only hope that this renewed emphasis on gross malpractice will be a cause for good.
In the event that Ubisoft releases a public statement we’ll be sure to update you, but in the meantime, let us know what you make of these recent developments in the usual place below.
