Yesterday, a bombshell report from The Wall Street Journal revealed Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick knew about his company's toxic work environment for years and kept that information from getting to shareholders. Today, those shareholders are divided on whether he should step down.
The Activision Blizzard board issued a statement last night backing Kotick and his handling of the company even in the wake of two employee walkouts, lawsuits from two government agencies and one coalition of shareholders, and an ongoing investigation from the US Securities Exchange Commission.
“The Activision Blizzard Board remains committed to the goal of making Activision Blizzard the most welcoming and inclusive company in the industry,” the board wrote. “Under Bobby Kotick's leadership the Company is already implementing industry-leading changes including a zero-tolerance harassment policy, a dedication to achieving significant increases to the percentages of women and non-binary people in our workforce and significant internal and external investments to accelerate opportunities for diverse talent. The Board remains confident that Bobby Kotick appropriately addressed workplace issues brought to his attention.”
But not all shareholders are as confident as the Activision board. Activision Blizzard shares have dropped almost 10% since the WSJ report broke yesterday, and many shareholders are standing with Activision Blizzard employees in calling for Kotick's resignation.
“In contrast to past company statements, CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of many incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault and gender discrimination at Activision Blizzard, but failed either to ensure that the executives and managers responsible were terminated or to recognize and address the systematic nature of the company’s hostile workplace culture,” reads a letter sent to Activision's board from Strategic Organizing Center (SOC) Investment Group, a labor union coalition representing pension funds of four US-based unions. That letter, obtained by the Wall Street Journal, was also signed by several Activision Blizzard shareholders representing a total of 4.8 million shares.
SOC executive director Dieter Waizenegger told the WSJ that Kotick "failed to uphold a safe workplace" and has called for Kotick's resignation along with the board's chairman.
Eurogamer reports that 150 Activision Blizzard workers walked off the job yesterday following the report, along with a smaller group working out of Blizzard's Minnesota QA office and an unknown number of remote workers.