After the wave of mass layoffs, which were influenced by about 9 100 employees in Microsoft, many of which were in its Xbox game department, the Zenimax employees’ association responded to the statement explaining the current employment status of its members.
Today, Zenimax Online Studios United (Zosu), which represents employees both at Elder Scrolls Online, as well as the canceled unannounced MMO, issued a long statement regarding exemptions and cancellation of projects. Zosu critically confirmed that at present all members are still employed by Microsoft and receive remuneration and benefits, although it probably won’t be like that forever.
According to the statement, representatives of Union employees are currently dealing with how employees will move forward after closing the MMO. While the Union admits that exemptions may be in the future for some members, “as a result of our organization we are able to assure that the affected people will be able to leave with dignity.”
Zosu was established in December last year, consisting of 461 employees at Zenimax Online Studios. This number included websites, designers, engineers and graphic designers at Zenimax Online Studios working on Elder Scrolls Online and unannounced MMO. While Zosu still did not reach a contract with Microsoft, his siblings Union Zenimax Workers United, which represents Zenimax QA employees, reached the contract at the end of May.
Zosu’s statement was published in full below:
At the beginning of this month, Microsoft has been put off by the unannounced MMORPG at Zenimax Online Studios, which is a shock for 222 Zosu-Cwa programmers working on the project. It was comforting and checking the correctness to see our game mentioned in the press and by players who would like to see the results of our work.
Undoubtedly, the future has been stolen many of us, and our community will never experience an amazing game. However, despite the discussions regarding the status of our employment, the fact is: we have not yet been released.
Although we understand that for most of us something like a dismissal is inevitable, in December last year both teams for Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) and the unannounced project voted for the most part to create a union and set up online studies of Zenimax United-Cwa (Zosu-Cwa). Wolontarians decided to represent the interests of our relationship, currently they are negotiating with Microsoft for the benefit of our affected team members.
While Microsoft and Zosu-Cwa are bargaining about how we act forward after closing the project, programmers of the unannounced project remain employees of Zenimax Online Studios with full salary and benefits.
On July 2, our lives were raised without prior notification or communication on the part of Microsoft Leadership and without a clear understanding of the status of our employment. In the delicate of this, our relationship merged with the urgent need, gathering and distribution of information and resources to our affected members.
Where Microsoft did not support talented craftsmen who generated billions of revenues, our relationship accelerated to ensure transparency and support.
It is true that the exemption may be in the future for some of our members. However, as a result of our organization, we are able to ensure that affected people will be able to leave with dignity.
More importantly, the work of Zosu-Cwa will continue so that our other teammates-very mighty ESO-MOGLI programmers follow in the footsteps of our colleagues from other departments and studies in Microsoft, including our Union’s siblings in Zenimax Workers United (Zwu-Cwa). We are looking forward to other units that will soon ratify truthful contracts that guarantee the laws that we all deserve.
The impact of Microsoft massive dismissals at the beginning of this month on Xbox was wide and is not fully understood. Since then, we learned that Everwild and Perfect Dark are no longer developed and the initiative has been closed.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior Ign reporter. You can find her post on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.skyla. Do you have a hint with history? Send it to ralentine@ign.com.
