Exit number two, the HR director and the head of the Canadian unit: the French video game publisher Ubisoft, in the middle of a scandal of aggressions and harassment, announced a spectacular reshuffle of its direction and promised " major changes in its corporate culture. " The departures "follow a rigorous review that the company conducted in response to recent allegations and accusations of misconduct and inappropriate behavior," said Ubisoft in a statement released Saturday night.
Specifically, number two "Serge Hascoët has chosen to resign from his post of 'Chief creative officer', with immediate effect. This role will be assumed in the interim by Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft," the company said. who announced on June 26 that he would investigate allegations of violence and harassment against executives in several countries.
"It's not acceptable"
"Ubisoft has not been able to guarantee its employees a safe and inclusive work environment," said Yves Guillemot, quoted in the press release released early Sunday morning. "It is not acceptable. All toxic behavior is in total opposition to the values with which I have never compromised and with which I will not compromise," said the leader. Yves Guillemot "will personally supervise a complete overhaul of the collaboration mode of creative teams", promised Ubisoft, which among its successful franchises, counts the series "Assassin's Creed", "Far Cry", "Rayman" or "The Crew" .
In the present case, "Yannis Mallat, director of the Ubisoft Canadian studios, leaves office and the Company with immediate effect. The recent allegations made in Canada against many employees do not allow him to continue to assume his responsibilities ", detailed the company.
In addition, "Ubisoft will appoint a new human resources manager, to replace Cécile Cornet, who has decided to resign from this position, in the interest of the group's unity". The company, which has 18,000 employees worldwide, including 22% women, "has also decided to restructure and strengthen the" human resources function and will "audit and improve its procedures and policies" in this area, it insured.
Many testimonies
The departures of Serge Hascoët and Cécile Cornet had been demanded on Saturday by the Solidaires Informatique union section of Ubisoft, in an online leaflet containing testimonies from employees who appeared in particular in the Saturday edition of the French daily Liberation. By the end of June, such anonymous testimony from Ubisoft employees or ex-employees had appeared on Twitter, targeting executives from studios in Toronto and Montreal, but also in Brazil, Bulgaria and the United States, and concerning sometimes facts dating back several years.
An ex-employee explained that a colleague had asked her for a blowjob during a party while she was still working at her office, others reported that such a creative director of the Montreal studio had "licked the face" of a employee at a company party. On July 4, Yves Guillemot announced the resignation of a vice-president and the layoff of another for "inappropriate behavior", after having promised the day before a "structural change" within the company.
Net loss of 126 million euros in the 2019-2020 financial year
"I am more than ever determined to implement profound changes to improve and strengthen our corporate culture," swore the CEO on Sunday. "I expect all managers of the Group to support their teams with the utmost respect. I also expect them to strive to carry out this necessary change, with the guiding principle being better for Ubisoft and all its collaborators ", concluded Yves Guillemot.
Ubisoft suffered a net loss of 126 million euros during its staggered financial year 2019-2020, due in particular to an impairment of assets in mobile gaming, on a turnover of 1.6 billion euros, in fall of 14% over one year. The group has displayed its caution for the current year against the background of a health crisis, although an increase in the practice of players has been observed in countries that have confined their populations.