A 6 million fund that management won’t let go of
On August 27th, following bitter negotiations, we at Quantic Dream signed an agreement for the ongoing redundancy plan (Plan de Sauvegarde de l’Emploi or PSE). In this tense context with an especially difficult social dialogue, we continue our annual mandatory negotiations (Négotiations Annuelles Obligatoires or NAO) which have been extremely disrupted or even paused by the redundancy plan. One element of those negotiations is « value sharing ».
Our main concern with this topic is a safeguarded budget of 6 million euros reserved for Quantic Dream employees in both Paris and Montréal. This amount was set aside following the purchase by NetEase in 2022 and was frozen to allow people joining the company later to receive a bonus linked to this purchase (people who were employed at that time received stock).
On August 5th, right in the middle of the redundancy plan, we had a « value sharing » negotiation. Together with Force Ouvrière, the other union present in the company, we voiced our request that this money be distributed this year, before the layoffs went into action. This makes complete sense: employees on all the company’s project will be laid off very soon. This budget was even presented as an upcoming bonus during some hiring interviews!
During this negotiation, management stated that they agreed with this request. They informed us that they would look into the banking operations required to gather the money and would come to us with a proposal.
Guillaume de Fondaumière, rends l’argent !
On September 10th, a month after the last meeting and two weeks after signing the redundancy plan agreement, we had a new meeting during which management changed its tone: they started explaining that the redundancy plan is now behind us, and we have to move on. Very kind words for the workers who have not yet lost their job and to the teams concerned about their future.
Management, beaming, claims that the previous meeting’s content was nothing but inconsequential discussion, and that they did not have a mandate at that point to negotiate the topic. There’s only one way to sum up their contempt: they’re taking the piss.
Management then explains being fully against using this money in 2026 before the layoffs. They consider that the people losing their jobs are already being compensated very generously, and remaining employees working on Star Wars Eclipse need further incentives. As if keeping your job was not incentive enough in an industry butchered by the mistakes of our studios’ leadership.
The proposed plan is now to distribute this budget after Star Wars Eclipse comes out, in case it makes significant profit, to the people still within the company. What happens if the project fails? If the ccompany closes for lack of support from NetEase? If there is a new redundancy plan? We deem it necessary to motivate the troops now, instead of attempting to dangle a hypothetical carrot that already leaves many people out.
It’s the same old song, played by all company executives: a purposefully unreachable goal, so money never get redistributed to workers.
Faced with this stern refusal by management to even discuss the topic, we slammed the door on the negotiation process. If management refuses to negotiate the topics they are not interested it, it is time for this to stop.
For exemple, we had two main requests for the « work time » annual mandatory negotiation: lower work hours (we are the only French videogame company working 40 hours a week by default), and securing remove work for the future via an agreement. Management steadily refused to discuss those topics. At Quantic Dream, this is called « peaceful social dialog ».
Violence has two faces
As a total coincidence, 6 million euros is also the amount that Guillaume de Fondaumière personally received when the studio was sold. We understand his frustration that David « Cage » de Gruttola got a better deal, pocketing thirteen times (!) more money adding up to 80 million euros. This is not a reason to avoid distributing money back to workers. Contrast that to the fact that we are told that layoffs were unavoidable for lack of money… In total, over 100 million euros were distributed in 2022, and we are told the last 6 millions will have to wait another couple years. It’s simply unacceptable.
On the next day, during a meeting aiming to remotivate the troops, Guillaume de Fondaumière took it upon himself to criticise our union communications with only the merest plausible deniability, deeming them violent. The manageriale bourgeoisie will always find it normal to push our colleagues out the door, and call any resistance « violent ». A few employees fed up by impulsive management and daring to react with a clown emoji is not true violence. True violence is communications from management where they blame Spellcasters’ failure on the teams, ungrateful swine that they are for failing to thank their bosses for giving them work (before firing them in cold blood).
Guillaume de Fondaumière expresses the wish that each and everyone may work peacefully inside the studio. A small bit of advice: distributing the money owed to the workers and avoiding regular insults to them in the company’s communications would be a first step towards that. That’s without even considering the layoffs: who can work in peace in a company where you might get fired at any time?
We have only one thing to tell Guillaume de Fondaumière : respect is earned, not decreed. As long as the managerial circus does not stop, workers will be angry. Whether or not we’re here, as long as you continue your unfair actions, they will be rightfully outraged. This is made worse by the double speak from NetEase, our sole shareholder: during the redundancy plan they were very close to closing the studio, two weeks later they have our back without reserve. How can we trust Quantic Dream’s management when they contradict themselves so?
At Quantic Dream, crunch is part of company culture. Every project’s final push has been especially difficult and every worker in the studio dreads the phase to come. It’s only logical that they feel wronged by inconsequential, violent leadership. It has to stop now.
Management must pay for its disgraceful acts
For all these reasons, and to make ourselves heard by this manegement that never misses a beat, we call for a renewable strike starting Tuesday, September 15th.
Our demands are as follows:
- for management to finally pay out the 6 millions fund to eligible employees, before the redundancy plan layoffs are applied;
- for management to reduce our work hours without lowering pay;
- for management to cease its contemptuous communication towards employees;
- for management to stop its constant union discrimination and its systemic defamation, failing which we will take all necessary legal measures.
Our strike fund is still open to support the current movement and the ones to come. It will allow money to be redistributed to strikers to blunt the financial consequences as much as possible. We encourage you to spread it far and wide.
We had warned that we would surrender nothing: case in point. We will fight as long as we have to against Guillaume de Fondaumière, David « Cage » de Gruttola, and the entirety of this clique that despises us so much.