{"id":264532,"date":"2026-02-02T22:53:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/264532\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T22:53:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:53:07","slug":"ubisoft-fires-employee-who-publicly-criticized-its-rto-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/264532\/","title":{"rendered":"Ubisoft fires employee who publicly criticized its RTO plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">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 <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/kotaku.com\/ubisoft-punishes-developer-union-strike-return-to-office-2000663771\" data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:suspended;cpos:1;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;suspended&quot;,&quot;yLinkPosition&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;yPosition&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\">suspended<\/a> for three days without pay after voicing opposition to the company&#8217;s return to office mandate. Today, Michaud-Cromp <a class=\"link  rapid-with-clickid etailiffa-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shopping.yahoo.com\/rdlw?merchantId=6deefbf2-941b-4156-9f41-a61ebb50d13d&amp;siteId=us-engadget&amp;pageId=1p-autolink&amp;contentUuid=11e7f272-fc8b-4167-bc55-096c33c2e509&amp;featureId=text-link&amp;merchantName=LinkedIn&amp;linkText=posted&amp;custData=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&amp;signature=AQAAASWkyz-XO-ajVFlb-8GlqOcifn5Jqvg0AASrov_I_3Wi&amp;gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fposts%2Fdavid-michaud-cromp-10668035_today-i-was-terminated-by-ubisoft-effective-activity-7424133083051978757-F2ho%2F&amp;spaceId=1197802876\" data-i13n=\"elm:affiliate_link;sellerN:LinkedIn;elmt:;cpos:2;pos:1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:posted;elm:affiliate_link;sellerN:LinkedIn;elmt:;cpos:2;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;posted&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;affiliate_link&quot;,&quot;ySellerName&quot;:&quot;LinkedIn&quot;,&quot;yLinkPosition&quot;:&quot;2&quot;,&quot;yPosition&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:true}\">posted<\/a> on LinkedIn that he has been fired. &#8220;I was terminated by Ubisoft, effective immediately,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;This was not my decision.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">A spokesperson for Ubisoft gave <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/kotaku.com\/ubisoft-montreal-lead-fired-david-michaud-cromp-work-from-home-linkedin-2000665081\" data-i13n=\"cpos:3;pos:1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Kotaku;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Kotaku&quot;,&quot;yLinkPosition&quot;:&quot;3&quot;,&quot;yPosition&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\">Kotaku<\/a> the following statement regarding Michaud-Cromp&#8217;s dismissal: &#8220;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.&#8221; We&#8217;ve reached out to the company for additional confirmation and comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">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 <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/gaming\/ubisoft-is-shutting-down-a-studio-16-days-after-it-unionized-183000983.html\" data-i13n=\"cpos:4;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:shut down;cpos:4;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;shut down&quot;,&quot;yLinkPosition&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;yPosition&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">shut down<\/a> 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 <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/gaming\/ubisoft-shuts-down-a-support-studio-and-lays-off-185-workers-191048262.html\" data-i13n=\"cpos:5;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:later in January;cpos:5;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;later in January&quot;,&quot;yLinkPosition&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;yPosition&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">later in January<\/a>, with even more layoffs <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/gaming\/ubisoft-proposes-even-more-layoffs-after-last-weeks-studio-closures-and-game-cancellations-192703241.html\" data-i13n=\"cpos:6;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:proposed;cpos:6;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;proposed&quot;,&quot;yLinkPosition&quot;:&quot;6&quot;,&quot;yPosition&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">proposed<\/a>. Most recently, unions representing other Ubisoft workers called for <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/gaming\/ubisoft-173241918.html\" data-i13n=\"cpos:7;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:a three-day strike;cpos:7;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;a three-day strike&quot;,&quot;yLinkPosition&quot;:&quot;7&quot;,&quot;yPosition&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a three-day strike<\/a> in response to the &#8220;penny-pinching and worsening our working conditions&#8221; they alleged of the company&#8217;s management.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">All these issues could all be coincidental timing. But if so, they&#8217;re coincidences that don&#8217;t reflect favorably on Ubisoft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ubisoft continues to raise eyebrows around how it is treating employees as it attempts a business overhaul. David&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264533,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[151106,151107,111,139,69,145,46560,151105],"class_list":{"0":"post-264532","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-david-michaud-cromp","9":"tag-michaud-cromp","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz","13":"tag-technology","14":"tag-ubisoft","15":"tag-ubisoft-montreal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}