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Activision Blizzard has been in hot water ever since the company's first round of sexual harassment allegations back in July 2021. More recently, Activision Blizzard has been dealing with issues relating to its vaccination policies, as employees threatened the company with a walkout if their demands regarding the matter were not met.
Many employees at the company were unhappy when Activision Blizzard decided to remove its COVID-19 vaccination requirement. This decision was made in an attempt to encourage more employees to return to the workplace, but was exceptionally controversial. Some employees were unhappy that their employment depended on receiving the vaccine, while others were concerned about their safety being compromised. The company did, however, stipulate that it would act quickly if cases of the COVID-19 virus began to spike once again.
The removal of the COVID-19 vaccination policy resulted in Activision Blizzard employees threatening to stage a walkout. Activision-Blizzard-King Workers Alliance representatives noted that they had only agreed to return to on-site work after the company mandated vaccination. The company agreed and then later went back on this decision, which prompted the union to stage a walkout. The demonstration was unable to be conducted in person owing to weather conditions, which led 117 employees to stage a digital walkout.
Since then, Activision Blizzard has responded to the union's demands and noted that the company would operate under a voluntary return to office policy and would not retaliate against any employees who participated in the demonstration. The walkout resulted in four of the company's subsidiary studios reversing the changes and implementing a vaccination and testing policy. The union's main demands have still not been entirely met, as the organization wants the rest of the company's studios to reverse the lifting of the vaccine mandate as well.
With regards to the company's other issues, a judge has recently approved an $18 million settlement for one of Activision Blizzard's sexual harassment lawsuits. This sum will not go towards any of the claimants and will be used to fund harassment and discrimination prevention programs within Activision Blizzard instead.
Some US Senators have also stood in opposition of Bobby Kotick receiving a payout if he decides to leave Activision Blizzard on good terms. The Senators stated that if Kotick receives a payout for leaving on good terms, it will undermine the employees' current push for accountability, as they believe the CEO should take some responsibility for the allegedly toxic culture in his company.
Source: Polygon