Raven Software QA staff are still not back at work and are entering their second day of protest. Employees walked off the job yesterday to protest recent layoffs that eliminated a third of the studio’s QA staff, many of whom recently relocated to Wisconsin after being promised a permanent position there. Terminated staff were considered "essential" for the day-to-day operation of Raven, which helps develop and maintain the multi-billion dollar Call of Duty franchise.
Workers have a singular demand: rehire all staff laid off on Friday and offer them permanent positions.
According to a report from The Washington Post, 60 staff walked off the job at Raven yesterday while the staff eliminated on Friday were all in good standing with the company. The terminations seemed to have been performed "at random," leaving remaining staff "incredibly heartbroken."
Activision Blizzard issued a statement yesterday confirming it had ended the contracts of 20 temporary workers last Friday, 12 of which were at Raven Software, which is a development studio belonging to the corporation. However, there are plans to offer 500 contract workers full-time employment in the coming weeks.
That wasn't good enough for Raven as staff went back to both real and virtual picket lines on Wednesday morning. And they're not alone. QA staff from Blizzard's Texas, Minnesota, and California offices have also joined Raven in solidarity in demanding the terminated employees be rehired.
"Today workers from Raven QA are walking out for the second day in a row," confirmed ABetterABK on Twitter. "They are joined by workers from QATX, QAMN, and Blizzard QA. These workers are standing in solidarity with the statement Raven QA put forward yesterday. They are using the social media hashtag #WeAreRaven."
Activision Blizzard is facing increasing work stoppages in the wake of several lawsuits and a bombshell report that accused CEO Bobby Kotick of both ignoring reports of sexual harassment and even contributing to Activision Blizzard's toxic work culture. Calls for Kotick’s departure have so far been resisted by the Activision Blizzard board even in the face of mounting political pressure.