Bethesda HR Removed Small Memorial for Laid-Off Staff
▼ Summary
– Xbox conducted a large wave of layoffs across its divisions, including Bethesda studios, with more cuts expected over the next 12 months.
– The Bethesda Game Studios Union reported that a memorial for laid-off staff in Rockville, Maryland was ordered removed by HR for being in a common area.
– The Austin BGS team had set up a similar “Celebration of Service” memorial to honor laid-off colleagues and show solidarity.
– HR stated the memorial was inappropriate for a common area, despite the team having used such spaces for other displays like fan works.
– Xbox has allowed unions to form but has been criticized by union members for slow-walking contract negotiations and stalling on layoff protections.
Earlier this week, Xbox initiated another sweeping round of layoffs across its various divisions and studios, hitting Bethesda teams particularly hard. In response, employees at the main Bethesda Game Studios in Maryland attempted to honor their departed coworkers with a small memorial, but human resources reportedly ordered its removal, according to posts from the official BGS Union account.
On Monday, Xbox and Microsoft cut thousands of jobs across subsidiaries including id Software, Obsidian, and Activision. The company also spun off or sold studios like Double Fine and Ninja Theory. This latest round of cuts, described by many as a corporate bloodbath, has become a recurring pattern at Xbox, with further layoffs expected over the next 12 months. Bethesda Game Studios and its satellite teams were not spared, losing many staff members in the broader reduction.
The following day, as reported by the Bethesda Game Studios Union, the BGS team in Austin set up a small “Celebration of Service” memorial. It featured photos of laid-off employees, intended as a tribute and a show of solidarity during a difficult period.
Inspired by that gesture, staff at the main Bethesda Games Studio in Rockville, Maryland, decided to create a similar display. On Wednesday morning, the BGS Union account posted a photo of the Rockville memorial. However, the union claims that within minutes, HR demanded the memorial be taken down.
“Unfortunately, HR made our office manager take this down almost immediately,” the union account posted. “They said because it’s in a common area, it had to be removed. We’ve used common areas for many things as a team, including fan works, but HR seems to believe that a Celebration of Service is inappropriate.”
Kotaku has reached out to the BGS Union and Xbox for comment on the removed memorial and the status of the Austin tribute.
Back in 2022, Xbox pledged not to oppose unionization efforts at Activision Blizzard as part of its strategy to secure regulatory approval for the Microsoft acquisition. While the company has kept that promise, allowing studios to form unions, members have since complained that Xbox is slow-walking negotiations and stalling contract talks with teams seeking stronger layoff protections and other improvements.
(Source: Kotaku)
