Ubisoft fires employee who publicly criticized its RTO plan

Ubisoft terminates a Montreal level design lead after he publicly opposed the company’s return-to-office mandate, citing a breach of its Code of Conduct.

Ubisoft continues to raise eyebrows around how it is treating employees as it attempts a business overhaul . David Michaud-Cromp, a level design team lead at Ubisoft Montreal, said last week that he was suspended for three days without pay after voicing opposition to the company’s return to office mandate . Today, Michaud-Cromp posted on LinkedIn that he has been fired. “I was terminated by Ubisoft, effective immediately,” he wrote . “This was not my decision.”

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A spokesperson for Ubisoft gave Kotaku the following statement regarding Michaud-Cromp’s dismissal: “Sharing feedback or opinions respectfully does not lead to a dismissal . We have a clear Code of Conduct that outlines our shared expectations for working together safely and respectfully, which employees review and sign each year. When that is breached, our established procedures apply , including an escalation of measures depending on the nature, severity, and repetition of the breach.” We’ve reached out to the company for additional confirmation and comment .

This is the latest in a sequence of bad press Ubisoft has faced regarding its workforce. Shortly after many employees at Ubisoft Halifax unionized , the parent company shut down the studio . In announcing the closure, Ubisoft said the move was part of a broader cost-cutting endeavor across its operations ; it shut down a support studio and cut more jobs later in January, with even more layoffs proposed . Most recently, unions representing other Ubisoft workers called for a three-day strike in response to the “penny-pinching and worsening our working conditions” they alleged of the company’s management .

All these issues could all be coincidental timing . But if so, they’re coincidences that don’t reflect favorably on Ubisoft .