Employees at Bethesda Game Studios who are part of the union will go on strike next week following significant layoffs at Xbox.
OneBGS is planning to organize demonstrations outside various company studios in Montreal, Rockville, Austin, and Texas, as outlined in an email from the OneBGS Mobilising Committee (via Game Developer).
The protests are set to take place next Wednesday, July 15, at 12:30pm EST.
“Due to our unionization and certification, we have secured legal rights and protections that non-unionized studios lack,” stated OneBGS.
“The company is hoping we will simply accept this situation and fade away quietly. But we refuse to let that happen. Our next course of action is to mobilize. We need every member to stand together visibly and united.”
A total of 440 union members were impacted by the recent layoffs across Bethesda and ZeniMax. This includes 96 individuals at Id Software, 40 remote workers at BGS Dallas, 22 at BGS Austin, 213 at ZeniMax Online Studios in Maryland, and 166 at ZeniMax Media.
“Microsoft and BGS are attempting to present these layoffs as a ‘strategic shift in business focus,’ claiming they are moving from a ‘studio-oriented business model to a franchise-oriented model’ to avoid their legal responsibility to negotiate this decision with us,” continued the union.
In an email to employees earlier in the week, Bethesda CEO Jill Braff affirmed this strategy, mentioning that the company would be reallocating talent, technology, and resources across the organization by emphasizing its “most successful franchises.”
“While we continue to pursue the legal battle, Microsoft is currently obligated to engage in ‘Effects Bargaining’ with us,” noted OneBGS. “This grants us the right to discuss precisely how these layoffs will impact our members, and we are prepared to negotiate for the benefit of every affected worker.”
The union concluded by stating: “We will be requesting priority transfers to ensure that Microsoft places affected BGS employees into available positions across Xbox and Microsoft first, improved severance packages and extended healthcare to prevent financial hardship, and recall rights to guarantee that our laid-off members are the first to be rehired when BGS expands.”
OneBGS was established in 2024 when it partnered with the Communication Workers of America.
It became the third ZeniMax-owned studio to unionize, following in the footsteps of OneBGS Montreal and ZeniMax Workers after Microsoft and the CWA entered into a labor neutrality agreement in 2022.