Ubisoft: between 400 and 500 strikers in France, according to the unions

Europe 1 ave AFP // Credits: AFP 7:21 p.m., February 14, 2024

The strike movement at the French video game giant Ubisoft mobilized "between 400 and 500 people" in France on Wednesday, according to an estimate from the Video Game Workers' Union (STJV). “It’s a historic mobilization,” said Vincent Cambedouzou, STJV Paris union delegate, in front of the Ubisoft site in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis). Several dozen employees gathered there at the start of the afternoon to demand a wage increase. Contacted by AFP, Ubisoft management did not wish to comment.

The movement affected other studios such as Montpellier, where AFP counted around fifteen demonstrators on Wednesday morning. According to the unions, strikers were also present in front of the Annecy studio. “We asked for a general increase envelope of 5% (...) Management is proposing a 2.8% increase, like last year,” explained Clément Montigny, programmer at Ubisoft Montpellier and STJV union delegate. “We therefore rejected the draft agreement.”

>> READ ALSO - 

Accusations of harassment: Ubisoft announces several departures, including its No. 2 and its HR director

A balance of power 

Last week, the company reported results that beat analysts' forecasts for the third quarter of its 2023-2024 fiscal year. “We are told of good results, even very good, and the increases are not there,” lamented Paul Eyheramouno, designer at Ubisoft Paris. For Marc Rutschlé, Solidaires Informatique union representative at Ubisoft Paris, "management only understands one dialogue, it's the balance of power. That's what we're doing today."

A day of mobilization had already affected Ubisoft in January 2023 to denounce managerial practices. According to union sources, around a hundred employees went on strike in Paris. A rather rare movement in the video game world.