We may hear as soon as this week which studios Microsoft’s gaming division, having grown too large too quickly, will let go this time.

The Communications Workers of America, or CWA, held a press conference at which current employees of studios in Microsoft’s gaming portfolio spoke out to make clear that they will do everything in their power to fight layoffs.

Kotaku interviewed CWA members who attended the press conference, once again highlighting how Microsoft delays negotiations with unions and keeps developers in an agonizing state of uncertainty.

ZeniMax Workers United QA was only able to finalize its contract after two years of negotiations, and the agreement came only after the union called a strike because of Microsoft’s delays. The question is how far Xbox is willing to go in order to keep employees in the dark about what is happening.

These layoffs cannot be viewed as a reset at all, because Xbox leadership is actually returning to an ineffective strategy.

The layoff-protection measures outlined during the press conference include giving developers facing possible cuts the opportunity to find another role somewhere else within the company before they lose their jobs. It would be a very sensible solution, provided the company were run in a way that values the employees it hires and their talents.

Moreover, in that case, management could be honest with employees instead of claiming to know nothing about the repeated layoff reports. During last year’s ZeniMax layoffs, the union was informed only around one hour before the public announcement.

When the ZeniMax union sought clarification during a bargaining session about cuts expected this week, Microsoft’s lawyers claimed they knew nothing about them. Other people in the room, including HR staff, additional lawyers, and studio management, provided no further information.

Microsoft recently rejected a layoff proposal submitted by the CWA as well, and it continued to keep unions negotiating with Xbox and trying to secure contracts in the dark even as more rumors emerged.

“We have rehired a lot of people who were laid off in earlier rounds of cuts. So the question is, what was the point of those layoffs? I do not have an MBA, but if we pay someone severance and then bring them back into the same job, I do not know. I am not a businessman. I put pictures together for a living.

But one of the biggest requests across Xbox Studios is to move people into open positions at other studios. They have so many studios, and job roles across different games are similar. If someone has the needed expertise, why can they not simply apply to another studio, or even to their own studio? Why can’t people just be transferred into open positions?

We understand that companies have to run a business, but this uncertainty is driving people mad. We just want to know whether they are genuinely trying to preserve our jobs, whether they acknowledge that we are people with hopes, dreams, children, and mortgages, and whether they will treat us with compassion.

If layoffs happen, we at least need to know what is going on. We have a contract. We know we have recall rights. We know they will try to transfer us. I know what my severance will be. Even if I am only planning the next five years of my life, I cannot be certain I will always have this job, but I can be certain about what would happen if it disappeared.” Blizzard senior editor Alison Veneto said.

According to the latest rumors, at least five studios could be closed: Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Undead Labs, and Arkane Lyon. Anyone who has followed the games industry at all during the past four decades knows the devastating effect these closures would have on Xbox’s current institutional knowledge, which these developers provide.

Closing those studios would be like Microsoft giving up its five best forwards for future considerations.

Source: WCCFTech, Kotaku