French union denounces Don't Nod's Plan that could affect up to 69 workers

The French game studio Don't Nod announced plans for a reorganization project that could result in up to 69 layoffs. The French union representing Don't Nod employees, STJV (Le Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailleuses du Jeu Video), described the plans as "the climax to a series catastrophic decisions" that they detailed in a recent statement.

The union, while the plans are still under negotiation between Don't Nod (the employer) and STJV (the employee), has issued a new statement in which it denounces the plans and claims that upper management has ignored employee complaints for months.

It writes: "Workers' representative at Don't Nod has been raising alarms about the company's financial situation for more than a years, which is cited as the reason to justify the layoffs."

The plan to lay off workers creates an atmosphere of extreme violence. We are calling all workers at Don't Nod mobilize in order to save their jobs and conditions of employment.

The STJV concludes the statement by comparing Don't Nod's situation to that of Ubisoft where they recently urged employees to join a 3-day strike over a change in the return to office policy. It says that, "When faced with executives who mock their employees, a social campaign like the one happening at Ubisoft today is necessary." "It's up to us to create the balance of power necessary to save our jobs." We won't pay for the mistakes of our bosses.

According to its financial results, Don't Nod's operating revenue decreased by 11% on an annual basis.

"Our half-year financial results for 2024 reflect our recent release's economic underperformance, despite its solid Metacritic ratings, as well the accounting impact of decisions we were forced to make," CEO Oskar Guibert said. "The initial performance-support measures announced last spring do not seem to be sufficient to maintain the competitiveness of the company."

The first episode of Don't Nod's upcoming '90s teen dramedy (with a hint Yellowjackets), Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, is still scheduled to be released in February 2025. I'm looking forward to the release of this teen drama, but there will be a lot pressure on it to meet sales expectations. Guilbert's comment about recent games not performing "despite solid ratings" suggests that the quality of the game may not matter.
Other reviewers seemed to agree with our Jusant review, which called the game a "2023 standout." According to those reviews and STJV's statements, it doesn't appear that Don't Nod's developer's are responsible for the "economic situation" of the company.