Activision Blizzard Stages Walkout

Source: Blizzard

New allegations of Bobby Kotick’s knowledge of the issues at Activision Blizzard have come to light.

Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard, has had a rough several months: allegations of sexual harassment and other improprieties have plagued Activision Blizzard so much that the federal government had subpoenaed him. While the issues have mostly affected Blizzard, who let go of numerous employees accused of sexual harassment and misconduct, none of the allegations have reached Kotick himself. Now, a breaking report by the Wall Street Journal has said that Kotick himself knew about all the sexual harassment and misconduct claims for years. The report also accuses Kotick himself of mistreating female employees.

“We will not be silenced until Bobby Kotick has been replaced as CEO, and continue to hold our original demand for Third-Party review by an employee-chosen source,” ABK Workers Alliance said in a tweet. “We are staging a walkout today. We welcome you to join us.”

If Kotick resigns, it is unsure who will replace him. To compound the issue even further, Activision Blizzard’s stock fell as the allegations came out. Kotick is all about the bottom line, but to clean up the company’s image, they will have to make sweeping changes and perhaps give in to ABK Workers Alliance’s demands.

Kotick himself has been backed by the Activision Blizzard board.

The Board of Directors, who Kotick asked for a pay cut recently, has backed the embattled CEO. In a press release to investors, Activision Blizzard said,

“The Activision Blizzard Board remains committed to the goal of making Activision Blizzard the most welcoming and inclusive company in the industry. Under Bobby Kotick’s leadership the Company is already implementing industry leading changes including a zero tolerance harassment policy, a dedication to achieving significant increases to the percentages of women and non-binary people in our workforce and significant internal and external investments to accelerate opportunities for diverse talent. The Board remains confident that Bobby Kotick appropriately addressed workplace issues brought to his attention. The goals we have set for ourselves are both critical and ambitious. The Board remains confident in Bobby Kotick’s leadership, commitment and ability to achieve these goals.”

As of this writing, we are unsure if Kotick will resign, but we will keep you updated on whether or not Kotick’s 30-year reign as head of Activision Blizzard will come to an end.