They won’t stand for Microsoft expecting them to quietly accept the layoffs and have those affected simply disappear into the background.

In response to the mass layoffs at Xbox, union members at Bethesda Game Studios (BGS) will go on strike next week. According to an email from the OneBGS Mobilization Committee, OneBGS is planning protests outside the company’s studios in Montreal, Rockville, and Austin. The protests will take place on July 15 at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time. A total of 440 union members at Bethesda and ZeniMax were affected by the layoffs. Of those, 96 worked at id Software; 40 were remote workers at BGS Dallas; 22 were at BGS Austin; 213 were at ZeniMax Online Studios in Maryland; and 166 were at ZeniMax Media. Jill Braff, the CEO of Bethesda, said the company will align the right talent, technologies, and resources within the organization by focusing on its strongest franchises.

“Because we organized and certified our unions, we have hard-won legal rights and protections that non-unionized studios simply do not have. The company wants us to accept this as a done deal and quietly disappear. We won’t let that happen. Our next steps are to mobilize. We need every single member to be visible and unified. Microsoft and BGS are trying to frame these cuts as an ‘entrepreneurial change in the scope of business,’ claiming that they are transitioning from a ‘studio-based business model’ to a ‘franchise-based model’ in order to avoid their legal obligation to bargain with us about the decision.

While we continue to push forward with the legal fight, Microsoft is currently legally required to sit down with us for “effects bargaining.” This means we have the right to negotiate how these layoffs will impact our employees. We are heading to the bargaining table to fight for every affected worker. We will demand preferential transfers to place affected BGS workers in open roles across Xbox and Microsoft first. We will also demand stronger severance and extended healthcare to ensure that no one is left without financial support. Additionally, we will demand recall rights to ensure that our laid-off members are the first hired when BGS expands,” said OneBGS.

OneBGS was founded in 2024 when it joined the Communications Workers of America union. It was the third ZeniMax-owned studio to form a union, following OneBGS Montreal and ZeniMax Workers. This occurred after Microsoft and the CWA signed a labor neutrality agreement in 2022.

Source: GamesIndustry, Game Developer