This week has been a hectic one for Rockstar Games, as the developer faces a wave of accusations related to union busting following the layoffs of up to 40 employees.
Rockstar has maintained that the terminations were due to gross misconduct and the leakage of confidential materials. However, the IWGB union organization insists that the true motive was to break up union organization within the company. In response, the IWGB has launched protests at Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive’s London offices, demanding that the workers be reinstated.
The IWGB shared updates about their protests on social media throughout the week. The group assembled at Take-Two’s UK offices to protest what they describe as the company’s attempts to suppress union activity. “We’re fighting back,” the organization wrote. “IWGB organized a protest in front of the Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two Interactive in London today. We’ll make sure the credits are rolling on their corporate greed.”
Rockstar initially responded to the allegations by stating the firings were due to “gross misconduct” by the employees involved. Notably, those employees were reportedly organizing union activity within Rockstar Games, which sparked criticism from the IWGB. The union insists that Rockstar’s primary goal was to disrupt and dissolve union efforts.
In light of the mounting backlash, Rockstar expanded on its reasoning in a new statement. The company claimed that the employees in question were caught inappropriately distributing confidential company materials through a Discord server.
The situation continues to develop as both sides present their positions, with ongoing protests highlighting the tensions between union organizers and the game developer.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146713/iwgb-rockstar-games-take-two-london-protest-layoffs
