Ubisoft hopes 200 employees at its Paris HQ will agree to quit so it doesn't have to lay them off the regular way

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A week after Ubisoft announced a major restructuring that included multiple game cancellations and delays, and a warning that it will "selectively close several studios," the company is now looking to eliminate 200 employees at its headquarters in Paris.

"In line with last week's announcements on its new operating model and the acceleration of cost-reduction initiatives, Ubisoft International has initiated discussions regarding a potential Rupture Conventionnelle Collective, a collective, voluntary mutual termination agreement that could involve up to 200 positions at its headquarters in France," a Ubisoft spokesperson told IGN.

France's Ministry of Labor and Solidarity (Google translated) says the Rupture Conventionnelle Collective "may provide for a collective negotiated termination in order to terminate employment contracts on a voluntary basis without resorting to redundancy for economic reasons." It also places specific commitments on companies using the agreement—in this case, Ubisoft—including things like the maximum number of job cuts, the types of support displaced employees will be given, and termination pay.

But while the cuts that come via this agreement would be voluntary, the obvious question is what will happen if an agreement can't be reached, or fails to achieve the desired goals. The report says roughly 1,100 people are currently employed at Ubisoft's Paris offices, meaning Ubisoft is looking at ditching nearly 20% of its staff—that's a massive cut by any measure, and particularly so when you're asking people to give up jobs they may have held for years and greatly enjoy. (And particularly particularly so when those jobs are in an industry that's been roiled by instability for years, and shows no sign of getting better anytime soon.)

That scenario played out recently at Ubisoft Massive, where employees were offered a "voluntary career transition program" including "financial and career assistance" for eligible employees who agreed to pack up and leave. When an insufficient number of employees chose to bite, Ubisoft imposed conventional layoffs, eliminating roughly 55 positions at Massive and Ubisoft Stockholm. A week later it closed the Stockholm studio outright, despite saying when the layoffs were announced that the cuts would not impact its "long-term direction."

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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