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Title: Video Game Union Workers Rally Against $55 Billion Saudi-Backed
Private Acquisition of EA

Link: https://games.slashdot.org/story/25/10/16/214...

EA employees and the Communications Workers of America union have condemned
the company's proposed $55 billion private acquisition -- backed by Saudi
Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners,
"claiming they were not represented in the negotiations and any jobs lost as
a result would 'be a choice, not a necessity, made to pad investors'
pockets," reports Eurogamer. From the report: Following the announcement,
there's been plenty of speculation around the future of EA and its multiple
owned studios, split between EA Sports and EA Entertainment. Now, members of
the United Videogame Workers union and the CWA have issued a formal response
alongside a petition for regulators to scrutinize the deal. "EA is not a
struggling company," the statement reads. "With annual revenues reaching $7.5
billion and $1 billion in profit each year, EA is one of the largest video
game developers and publishers in the world." This success has been driven by
company workers, the union stated. "Yet we, the very people who will be
jeopardized as a result of this deal, were not represented at all when this
buyout was negotiated or discussed." Citing the number of layoffs across the
industry since 2022, workers fear for "the future of our studios that are
arbitrarily deemed 'less profitable' but whose contributions to the video
game industry define EA's reputation." "If jobs are lost or studios are
closed due to this deal, that would be a choice, not a necessity, made to pad
investors' pockets - not to strengthen the company," the statement reads.
"Every time private equity or billionaire investors take a studio private,
workers lose visibility, transparency, and power," it continues. "Decisions
that shape our jobs, our art, and our futures are made behind closed doors by
executives who have never written a line of code, built worlds, or supported
live services. We are calling on regulators and elected officials to
scrutinize this deal and ensure that any path forward protects jobs,
preserves creative freedom, and keeps decision-making accountable to the
workers who make EA successful." As such, workers have launched a petition in
a "fight to make video games better for workers and players -- not
billionaires". The statement concludes: "The value of video games is in their
workers. As a unified voice, we, the members of the industry-wide video game
workers' union UVW-CWA, are standing together and refusing to let corporate
greed decide the future of our industry."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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