An October 27 assertion from staff of Do not Nod, the developer finest recognized for making the unique Life is Unusual video games, warn that the corporate is at risk of insolvency and layoffs, and accused its administration of “unlawful” practices which have brought about employees “uncertainty and nervousness.”
The damning assertion comes from staff who’re members of the French recreation trade union Le Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo, which revealed that Don’t Nod is at the moment beneath a safeguard to assist defend itself from insolvency (which means that the corporate wouldn’t be capable to pay its money owed).
The assertion claims staff have been approached by administration and given “a number of monetary situations” that might occur within the close to future, each of which “included redundancies,” with the worst case forecasting the “liquidation of the corporate by 2026.”
The message states that “almost all the non-managerial jobs” have been lower at Don’t Nod, which reportedly included all animators, character artists, idea artists, affiliate producers, and most environmental artists, sound designers, stage designers, programmers, QA testers, HR and builders. Half of its recreation designers have been additionally laid off, in line with the assertion.
“Administration is extraordinarily clearly going for closely individualized concentrating on and hasn’t been shy about their intent to maintain chosen folks in fairly than jobs, which is against the law,” the union wrote.
The assertion goes on to say that administration is betting on outsourcing to tackle the workload of those fired staff members — a choice that the union feels is “out-of-touch.”
The letter then says Do not Nod staff have been “residing on the sting, in uncertainty and nervousness” for the final two years, to the purpose the place six office accidents occurred this 12 months and an inquiry was just lately launched right into a “critical and fast hazard.” It additionally alleges that administration “refused to let those that could be prepared to depart earlier undergo a voluntary depart plan,” saying they “don’t care concerning the injury it offers to staff’ well being.”
The assertion ends on a hanging notice; a authorities company that represents staff is ready to make its ruling on November 3. After that, administration could have 21 days to determine on a plan. If this plan is accepted by the federal government company, it’s doable that staff might “get their firing letters on November 25.”
“If it have been to be rejected nonetheless, administration must return to the drafting board and improvise as a result of, as you may need gathered, planning for contingencies isn’t their forte,” the letter concludes.
That is the most recent information to floor relating to Don’t Nod’s dire monetary straits after it was warned by auditors in a monetary report that it might run out of money as early as November. Its newest recreation, Aphelion, was launched earlier this 12 months to middling evaluations, and given this current union tell-all, its subsequent venture may very well be in peril.