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Activision Blizzard apologizes for its “insensitive” response to abuse allegations and promises changes

Bobby Kotick lists the immediate steps they will take: “You have my unwavering commitment.”

After several days of criticism on social media, riots of their employees Y a call to strike for this same Wednesday, the top leader of Activision Blizzard finally pronounces on the accusations against the company for alleged harassment, sexual abuse and discrimination against its workers. And it does it through an open letter shared by media like The Verge. In it, the CEO Robert Kotick You acknowledge that your company’s initial response to the State of California’s lawsuit was “callous,” and promises to take immediate action to tackle these serious problems in the company.

His statement comes in the wake of a public statement by employees, where more than 2,500 signatories harshly criticized the initial response of Activision Blizzard, who strongly denied all the accusations made by the state of California. It also occurs after Activision Blizzard shares will fall on the stock market (-6.76%), when the big agencies (AFP) began to echo the case. In his statement, Bobby Kotick states that “this has been a difficult and worrying week.”

“I want to acknowledge and thank all those who have stepped forward in the past and in the last days. I really appreciate your bravery. Every voice is important – and we will do a better job of listening to you, now and in the future, “begins the CEO of Activision Blizzard, before acknowledging its failures:”Our initial responses to problems that we faced together and your concerns were, frankly, quite insensitive . It is imperative that we acknowledge all perspectives and experiences, and that let’s respect the feelings of those who have been mistreated in any way ”.

“I am sorry if we have not offered appropriate empathy and understanding.” In general, Kotick assures that they have listened to the criticisms of these days, and promises measures to tackle this serious situation. “We will take immediate action to be the compassionate, caring company you have come to work for and to ensure a safe environment. In our company there is no room for discrimination, harassment or unequal treatment of any kind ”, affirms the CEO, adding:“ We will do everything possible to ensure that, together, we improve and create the kind of workspace inclusive that is essential to encourage creativity and inspiration “.

To ensure change, and reassure those who do not trust Activision Blizzard to take real action, Bobby Kotick has requested that an outside agency – WilmerHale law firm – be tasked with reviewing all company policies and procedures, in the interest of to change your practices from top to bottom. ” This work will begin immediately “Kotick adds. With this, the company leader cites the following measures that they will take immediately:

  1. Employee support: We will investigate each of the allegations and will not hesitate to take decisive action. To strengthen our capabilities in this area, we are adding veteran employees and other resources to both the complaints department and the employee relations department. [RR.HH.].
  2. Listening sessions: We know that many of you have inspired ideas on how to improve our culture. We are going to create safe spaces, moderated by third parties, where you can speak freely and share ideas for our improvement. “
  3. Personnel changes: We will immediately evaluate managers and leaders throughout the company. Anyone found to have damaged the integrity of our complaint evaluation processes and caused the respective consequences will be fired.
  4. Recruitment practices: At the beginning of the year, I sent an email asking all managers to make sure they have a diverse portfolio of candidates for all open positions. We’re adding compliance resources to ensure that our hiring managers are, in fact, complying with this directive.
  5. Cambios in-game: We have heard feedback from employees and the gaming communities that some of our in-game content was inappropriate. We are going to remove those contents.

It is worth mentioning that Blizzard has already confirmed that they will remove certain insensitive content from World of Warcraft in the coming days, so it is seen that the measures announced by Bobby Kotick are, indeed, immediate. “Your well-being continues to be my priority and I will not skimp on company resources to ensure that we have the most open, comfortable and safe culture possible.”

“You have my unwavering commitment that together we will improve our company, and will be the most inspiring and inclusive entertainment company in the world,” concludes the CEO of Activision Blizzard. This crisis, remember, has arisen after the state of California sued the company for its hostile climate with women, after an investigation of more than two years. Facts that have not only caused the call to strike by their employees, but also that the former president of Blizzard was embarrassed for the cases, and that other companies like Bungie have harshly criticized the culture of abuse in the industry.

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