Unionized Bethesda Montreal employees have slammed parent company Microsoft for allegedly offering laid off workers the “smallest severance legally possible without bargaining with the union.”<\/p>\n
OneBGS, a labor union representing a number of employees at the Fallout and Elder Scrolls maker, claims Microsoft initially told Bethesda Game Studios workers across the U.S. and Canada they would remain employed until September 2026 while the company negotiated severance with the union.<\/p>\n
“This at least provided some solace and breathing room,” said OneBGS, whose members have been caught in the 3,200 layoffs announced by Microsoft and Xbox<\/a> at the beginning of July.<\/p>\n “However, at the end of the day on Friday, July 17, the affected Canadian employees (part of the Fallout and Elder Scrolls teams) received termination letters via email,” added the union in a statement posted on Bluesky<\/a>.<\/p>\n “This was contrary to what they had been told in the Monday calls. These letters stated that the Canadians are to receive the bare legal minimum in terms of severance: eight weeks of pay in lieu of the minimum legal notice, any outstanding vacation pay, etc. They were to also immediately lose their group benefits health insurance.”<\/p>\n