Petition Created by Game Workers Unite to Fire Activision CEO Bobby Kotick

Rachael Fiddis February 14, 2019 5:40 PM EST

Game Workers Unite has started up a petition to have Activision CEO Bobby Kotick fired and also to support the 800 Activision-Blizzard workers who were laid off

Following the horrific news a few days ago regarding Activision-Blizzard laying off around 800 employees, Game Workers Unite has set up a petition asking people to sign it in support of having Activision CEO Bobby Kotick fired.

These layoffs by Activision-Blizzard were the result of de-prioritizing of initiatives that didn’t meet expectations with Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard then making the statement “While our financial results for 2018 were the best in our history, we didn’t realize our full potential”. This comes from a company who granted a $900,000 salary to a high-ranking executive who joined only last month, but in the same breath, gets rid of around 8% of their total talented workers who now are at a total loss on what to do next.

Outraged at the treatment of Activision-Blizzard employees – who, like a lot in the industry, aren’t unionized – Game Workers Unite who is an international grassroots organization, decided to start up a petition and say “We, the workers of Activision and their friends, have had enough. Join us in saying that it’s time to #FireBobbyKotick”

Game Workers Unite highlight the importance of why this petition needs to be created as well as seemingly sending a message straight to Bobby Kotick that says “Upending 800 workers’ lives while raking in millions in bonuses for you and your c-suite buddies isn’t leadership, it’s theft”. Some of the key problems that Game Workers Unite raise in the petition are that Kotick’s wealth is built from the stolen wages of its workers and while under Kotick’s authority, Activision gave a $15 million dollar bonus to the CFO just for changing his job title.

At the bottom of the petition, Game Workers Unite end their message with “Please sign this petition in solidarity and send a message to Activision Blizzard’s c-suite that we won’t let their greed ruin the games we love and uproot the lives of workers anymore!”

In a bid to appeal to their followers on Twitter to join this worthwhile cause, Game Workers Unite also created a post in aid of support for the hundreds of workers who are now left without a job through no fault of their own.

If you support the 800 Activision Blizzard employees who were laid off while the c-suite personally raked in millions, sign our petition to #FireBobbyKotick! ✊🏽✊🏿✊🏾https://t.co/rA3DM81Zai — Game Workers Unite ✊🏿✊🏽✊🏾 GDC (@GameWorkers) February 14, 2019

Game Workers Unite have partnered with Coworker.org, who organize successful campaigns, to help them with their petition which, as of writing, has gained 232 out of 300 signatures so far. I’m very sure this figure will go way beyond that though. If you would like to offer your support, you can visit the petition website right here.