Blizzard Offers 100 Staff Voluntary Redundancy

Blizzard Offers 100 Staff Voluntary Redundancy

There are more than a few growing rumours that there may be a few cash-flow issues currently at Blizzard/Activision. For example, it’s been well known that Destiny 2 has not proven to be a particularly huge success. Additionally, while the latest World of Warcraft expansion did provide a temporary boost, it is believed that user figures have pretty much already started to normalise.

At the very least, it’s pretty clear that the company is currently undergoing something of a ‘belt-tightening’ process of cutting costs.

In a report via Eurogamer, however, it would appear that this has extended to staff now. For the moment, however, the redundancies are voluntary. For the moment…

Customer Service

Blizzard Entertainment has one of their largest customer support centres in Europe based in Cork, Ireland. In the report, it has been suggested that Blizzard has offered at least 100 staff a voluntary redundancy package. Now, as anyone who has accepted one of these agreements would know, part of the terms is usually that by accepting the money, you agree to keep the arrangement private. That hasn’t, however, stopped a number of people anonymously wishing to make it known that with 100 less staff in the office, gamers may begin to notice a significant decrease in the quality and speed of their department.

Speculation

Without any actual confirmation, all we do have is unconfirmed rumours. They are, however, too numerous to ignore. It is believed that the package has offered staff members very handsome figures. Some reports even suggest up to a year’s salary. That is, however, presumably for more senior roles than this. If I, however, was to offer you £5,000 to quit your job, I doubt many of you would say no. I can’t imagine that working for Blizzard customer support is that good to turn it down!

What do you think? Is the company in financial difficulties? Will this affect customers getting good and fast service? In addition, how bad do you think the financial situation is? – Let us know in the comments!