Blizzard Entertainment is making headlines once again, with a spreadsheet reportedly going around with employees’ salaries listed anonymously for comparison.
Reports have it that a wage revolt is sparking over at Blizzard. The uproar sparked after there was an internal survey conducted in 2019 about employees’ pay.
Blizzard Entertainment is a division of Activision Blizzard based in California. It was founded back in 1991 and is known for its hit game titles, Overwatch, Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, and the Diablo game franchise.
Pay controversy looms Blizzard Entertainment
Bloomberg was first to report about the said controversy. It turns out, the 2019 internal survey was supposed to assess and “ensure fair pay” among all employees.
The result of the said study was implemented last month, which led to a wage revolt today. Based on the publication’s report, a spreadsheet has been going around, and the staff was encouraged to anonymously reveal their salary details.
As it turns out, the “pay bumps” are reportedly below 10%. This is “significantly less” from what the employees expected from the said study.
*BLIZZARD WORKERS REVOLT OVER WAGE DISPARITIES AT GAME DEVELOPER
*BLIZZARD STAFF CIRCULATE SPREADSHEET TO COMPARE SALARY, RAISES
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 3, 2020
Further sources of Bloomberg narrates the struggle of many employees. One veteran reveals that the raise received was only “less than 50 cents an hour.”
Meanwhile, other employees have been skipping meals to make rent, while some have taken advantage of the free coffee at the Blizzard headquarters for “appetite suppressant.”
Last year, its parent company, Activision Blizzard, reportedly asked Blizzard Entertainment to cut down on costs, which resulted in retrenchment. Unfortunately, many were made to absorb the workload of those who got laid off, without increasing due pay for the added workload.
Activision Blizzard employees are revolting over wage disparities at the company. on Friday employees put together an anonymous spreadsheet to share salaries over notoriously low pay, while CEO Bobby Kotick is making upwards of 30 million a year https://t.co/iWMfK8AP9M
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) August 4, 2020
Higher-ups salaries compared to the regular employees
Furthermore, the report reveals that some executive positions are earning over $100,000 a year, like producers and engineers. However, positions such as game testers and customer-service representatives are reportedly earning less than the minimum wage.
The media outlet quotes Jessica Taylor, the spokesperson for Activision Blizzard:
“Our goal has always been to ensure we compensate our employees fairly and competitively. We are constantly reviewing compensation philosophies to better recognize the talent of our highest performers and keep us competitive in the industry, all with the aim of rewarding and investing more in top employees.”
The wage revolt becomes a very hot topic because, while other employees chose not to have kids to save money, other execs are getting millions in sign-on bonuses and stock awards.
The report mentions CEO Bobby Kotick, wherein he was compensated a whopping $40 million for 2016, while CFO Dennis Durkin received $15 million as stock awards and sign-on bonus.
Featured image courtesy of Blizzard/Facebook
