Blizzard reduces its customer service staff in Europe and offers large bonuses for it. Does this have consequences for the players?
A total of 100 customer service employees at Blizzard are said to have been laid off at the Blizzard office in Ireland and are set to resign by the end of December. This is reported by colleagues from Eurogamer, citing statements from former support staff. The support is responsible for World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, or general issues with Battle.net.
Money was offered for leaving: However, the employees were not terminated and were not pressured to leave; rather, they were offered money if they resign promptly (similar to a severance payment). Over the past months, this offer has reportedly become increasingly generous and ultimately amounted to “the equivalent of a whole year’s salary.”
One of the former employees reportedly told Eurogamer that the “offer is too good to refuse.” Blizzard has repeatedly pointed out this option in recent months, and the money offered has increased every time. For the respective employee, the outlook became increasingly desperate. “When you see a large pile of money in front of you, again and again, you slowly lose hope and see no bright future situation.”
Blizzard confirms and downplays: Blizzard responded to Eurogamer and confirmed that employees had taken this voluntary offer. However, this has been a long-standing practice and Blizzard offers it worldwide. Employees have sufficient opportunities to “pursue other career options.” It is explicitly stated that no one has been encouraged to make this decision, but for those who take it, they try to be generous.
Cork remains active, support continues: Blizzard currently has no plans to close the office in Cork. They mentioned that the “player community can rely on having highly qualified customer service employees who will continue to assist players with their issues.”
Cortyn says: Honestly, I can’t imagine for the life of me that they would lose a hundred employees and not feel any impact. If 100 workers simply disappear, it will definitely have consequences – anything else would mean that the employees had been working extremely ineffectively until now. And I can’t imagine that, given what GameMasters have said about their job in the past.
What do you think about this news? Are negative impressions of Blizzard coincidentally increasing? Or is it clearly “the handwriting of Activision” as we often hear right now?
