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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/16800913

Microsoft QA Contractors Say They Were Laid Off for Attempting to Unionize

A quality assurance game testing company contracted by Microsoft’s Activision laid off an entire team of workers because they began organizing, according to an unfair labor practice charge filed by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) on Monday

The Lionbridge layoffs come during a huge wave of layoffs across the video game industry, during which around 6,400 workers lost their jobs in 2023 and 2024, including 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees in January.

The unfair labor practice charge filed Monday also alleges that Lionbridge offered workers severance agreements with terms that are illegal under the National Labor Relations Act. The press release said that these agreements included requirements “to agree to overly broad confidentiality terms,” which the National Labor Relations Board ruled unlawful last year.

“We do much the same work that union-represented Activision QA employees do, and Microsoft should make sure that everyone working on its games is treated with respect in line with its labor principles, including employees of contractors,” Bussabarger said in a statement.