In January, Microsoft announced its plans to acquire gaming industry giant Activision Blizzard in a shocking $68.7 billion deal.
At the time, there were concerns about the impact this would have on ongoing sexual harassment and abuse investigations at Activision Blizzard. But this week, things took a turn for the worse when four US senators signed a letter of concern to the FTC regarding the deal. They argue that the FTC should oppose the forward merger if the acquisition leads to worse consequences for the negotiating position of Activision Blizzard's striking workers.
You s. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse and Cory Booker are the senators behind the signings demanding the FTC investigate the legitimacy of the deal. The letter details the "brotherhood culture" uncovered by government investigations at Activision Blizzard, allegedly protecting the perpetrators of sexual misconduct and discrimination by the company and its CEO, Bobby Kotick.
Calls by Activision Blizzard employees for Kotick's resignation were also highlighted. The Microsoft acquisition resulted in Kotick remaining CEO until at least 2023, guaranteeing him millions in profits and a potential "gold compensation" if he didn't leave voluntarily.
The letter also accuses Microsoft's opportunistic buyout efforts of potentially damaging Activision Blizzard employees' efforts to unionize. QA staff at developer Raven Software began demanding voluntary recognition of an established union after it went on strike for weeks in January.
While Microsoft has said it will respect the outcome of the union initiative that is ongoing at the company, senators describe it as a pseudo-service that "provides no assurance on Microsoft's promise," and "leaves Microsoft many avenues to undermine the unionization process." And in the letter, they cited an example in 2014 when Microsoft QA employees unionized and were laid off two years later.
“We are deeply concerned about the consolidation in the tech industry and its impact on workers, and this proposed merger has already hurt workers at Activision Blizzard in their fight for a stable job and a safe working environment.” They asked the FTC to consider the history of both companies and the merger itself when assessing the anti-competitive effects of the deal.
As the US government investigates Microsoft's acquisition of Actvision, more lawsuits continue to hit Activision Blizzard as sexual harassment and discrimination allegations surface.
Kaynak