Don't Nod staff organize strike in response to company's redundancy plan

Employees at Don't Nod, the studio that created the first two Life is Strange games, Jusant, and the upcoming Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, have planned a strike for November 8 in protest of the company's redundancy plan, which was announced last month.

The details:

• In October, the French studio announced that up to 69 jobs were at risk as part of its proposed restructuring plan, which was revealed following a difficult financial year for the company. Don't Nod confirmed in September that the poor commercial performance of its releases over the previous year resulted in a "deterioration" in its half-year financial results, forcing it to refocus its development efforts on select projects such as Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.

• In an open letter from staff (via GamesIndustry.biz), workers have accused the studio’s leadership of failing to take responsibility for any shortcoming and used economical context as justification for its redundancy plan. "As workers at this company, we know that these failures are due to a succession of negligent acts and bad decisions from leadership," the letter reads. "We have warned leadership about these failures for years, but are not being listened to. Ultimately, we're the ones paying the price of these absurd decisions today, with the redundancy plan."

• The workers went on to say that "delusions of grandeur" led to Don't Nod's higher-ups over-investing, and that "short-term thinking" had a negative impact on the company. "We want to save the company, but not at the price of unjustified redundancies or a deteriorated working environment," their letter reads.

• The strike, announced by union STJV, will begin at 2 p.m. on Friday near Don't Nod's Paris headquarters. Staff have issued a list of demands, including that the studio abandon the restructuring plan entirely, give employees a "voice in decision-making at the company," and have CEO Oskar Guilbert present during negotiations.

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