“They want us to accept this as a done deal and quietly disappear” – Bethesda union members organise protest in response to Xbox layoffs

Union members at Bethesda Game Studios will strike next week in response to mass layoffs at Xbox.

OneBGS plans to hold marches outside the company’s studios in Montreal, Rockville, Austin, and Texas, according to an email from the OneBGS Mobilising Committee (via Game Developer).

The rallies are scheduled for next Wednesday, July 15, at 12:30pm EST.

“Because we organised and certified our unions, we have hard-won legal rights and protections that non-unionised studios simply do not have,” said OneBGS.

“The company wants us to accept this as a done deal and quietly disappear. We won’t let that happen. Our next steps are to mobilise. We need every single member visible and unified.”

A total of 440 union members were affected by the layoffs across Bethesda and ZeniMax. This includes 96 at Id Software, 40 remote workers at BGS Dallas, 22 at BGS Austin, 213 at ZeniMax Online Studios in Maryland, and 166 at ZeniMax Media.

“Microsoft and BGS are trying to frame these cuts as an ‘entrepreneurial change in the scope of business,’ claiming they are transitioning from a ‘studio-based business model to a franchise-based model’ to dodge their legal obligation to bargain the decision with us,” the union continued.

Bethesda CEO Jill Braff stated this in an email to employees earlier this week, adding that the company would “align the right talent, technology, and resources across the organisation” by focusing on its “strongest franchises.”

“While we push that legal fight forward, Microsoft is still legally required right now to sit down with us for ‘Effects Bargaining,’ said OneBGS. “This means we have the right to negotiate exactly how these layoffs impact our people, and we are heading to the table to fight for every single affected worker.”

The union concluded: “We are going to be demanding preferential transfers to force Microsoft to place affected BGS workers into open roles across Xbox and Microsoft first, stronger severance and extended healthcare to ensure no one is financially abandoned, as well as recall rights to ensure our laid-off members are the first ones hired back when BGS expands.”

OneBGS was formed in 2024 when it joined the Communication Workers of America.

It was the third ZeniMax-owned studio to unionise, following OneBGS Montreal and ZeniMax Workers after Microsoft and the CWA entered a labour neutrality agreement in 2022.