37 Activision Blizzard Employees Have "Exited" Due to Workplace Misconduct Allegations
While another 44 have been disciplined.
Activision Blizzard has released more than 30 employees and disciplined more than 40 due to workplace misconduct allegations.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the company has received approximately 700 reports from employees regarding workplace misconduct since July 2021. Activision spokeswoman Helaine Klasky confirmed that 37 staff members have “exited” the company, while 44 more received disciplinary actions after the company’s investigation. She added that the comments from employees included their statement on social media, which encompassed “benign workplace concerns” and “a small number” of more serious accusations that Activision Blizzard has reportedly investigated.
Klasky also explained that “the assertion regarding Mr. Kotick is untrue” — referring to the claim that the long-time company CEO was aware of the sexual misconduct allegations but did not reveal it to his board. WSJ reported the allegations in November 2021, as well as the 2006 complain from his assistant that he left her a voicemail threatening to have her killed. A separate spokeswoman shared that Mr. Kotick could not have possibly been informed of all of the workplace misconduct reports that he “regrets the alleged incident with his assistant.”
“Across Activision Blizzard, our team is working tirelessly so that every employee feels safe, equal, heard and empowered,” Activision Blizzard spokesperson Rich George also told The Verge. “Whether a comment about culture, an incident or suggested improvements, every single report that the company receives matters, and we have significantly increased the resources available to ensure that we can quickly and thoroughly look into each one.”
Elsewhere in gaming, Halo Infinite is finally reducing it shop prices after complaints from players.
