King, the video game company that created titles like “Candy Crush,” has announced an Employment Regulation File (ERE) that affects 47 people, or more than 7% of the staff at its Barcelona headquarters. In a press release, the CGT denounced that this file of collective dismissals is added to the “drip by drop” of departures that began in October 2023, when the company was purchased by Microsoft.
According to the union, with this restructuring, the company intends to “dismantle entire departments” that operated from King’s offices located in Barcelona and subcontract their work to other companies or offices in the group.
According to the CGT, workers in these departments were forced to train their replacements, workers from companies subcontracted by King who would operate from countries such as India. Meanwhile, other workers affected by the ERE will transfer their responsibilities to colleagues located in the company’s offices in other cities in Europe and the United States.
The union organization regretted that King is carrying out an ERA while he is making record profits from his flagship game. In September 2023, Candy Crush Saga would have exceeded $20 billion in revenue since its launch in 2012.
The Activision Blizzard King group brings $2 billion in revenue to Microsoft, or nearly 30% of the total revenue generated by the tech giant’s video games division.
The CGT highlights that King’s ERE in the Spanish offices is part of Microsoft’s plans to streamline the video games division in 2024. In total, the technology multinational has already decided to lay off 2,550 employees this year alone .
