Former Blizzard Versailles Employees Have Won Their Case In French Appeals Court

Just when things seem to be looking up for Activision Blizzard after shareholders approved the Microsoft deal, the company has taken another punch to the gut. One that they probably didn’t see coming. No, this isn’t about previous sexual harassment complaints or their repeated attempts to block unionization within the company. It’s about the hundreds of employees that they laid off a few years ago prior to shutting down their Blizzard studio in .

According to now-shuttered Blizzard Versailles studio recently won their case against the company in a French court of appeals. The employees were laid off in 2020 at the height of the pandemic due to supposed redundancies within the company. The appeal court has now invalidated these claims under the country’s plan de sauvegarde de l'emploi', a legal framework that allowed financially struggling companies to limit redundancies within their ranks to a certain extent.

Unfortunately, their victory has come too late as Blizzard had already shut down the studio, eliminating their chances of returning to their previous positions. They will, however, potentially be entitled to compensation equivalent to at least six months of salary.