Activision Blizzard Has Cut Or Disciplined About 80 Workers Since July

The Wall Street Journal's Kristen Grind is reporting that Activision Blizzard has cut over three dozen employees from its work force in light of the sexual harassment accusations that have plagued the company for months. The WSJ article also said that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick ordered information on the personnel moves, which was to be released by the company before the 2021 holidays, to be delayed until after the New Year, so as not to reflect poorly on the company.

In addition, Grind reported that there have been about 700 reports of misconduct filed by employees since July, though some are duplicate reports regarding the same incident.

In October, we learned that 20 employees had been let go and a further 20 had been disciplined by the company. Those numbers have now ballooned to 37 and 44 respectively, a spokesperson for Activision Blizzard confirmed. The spokesperson has denied the figure of 700 disciplinary reports, as well as the claim that Kotick delayed the issuing of the statistics.

To supplement the article, which is behind a paywall, Grind tweeted out that Activision Blizzard is facing "intense pressure from shareholders/partners/employees" and that one of its investors "sent a letter to Activision's board with a list of demands," with dire financial consequences if they weren't met.

Also new info on the shareholder pressure: One investor, Fidelity International, sent a letter to Activision's board with a list of demands and warned it could divest or join w/ other shareholders if they're not met. NY Comptroller also has written. Board has stood by Kotick.

— Kirsten Grind (@KirstenGrind) January 17, 2022

The board of directors has continued to back Kotick, despite his apparent proliferation of harassing behavior at the company (also reported by Grind), and pressure from shareholders and half a dozen state treasurers to take significant action. Xbox chief Phil Spencer also recently said that his company would be changing how it does "certain things" with Activision Blizzard, something he hinted at in November.