Employees at Electronic Arts and members of the Communication Workers of America released a joint statement this week opposing the company’s pending $55 billion sale, which includes the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund alongside private equity groups. The group says workers were left out of the negotiations and voiced strong concern about job losses and closed-door decision-making.
The statement argues that EA is not a struggling company, citing approximately $7.5 billion in annual revenue and roughly $1 billion in profit each year, and it places the company’s success squarely on the backs of its staff. “Every time private equity or billionaire investors take a studio private, workers lose visibility, transparency, and power,” the group wrote, adding that any future layoffs would be a choice to pad investor returns rather than a necessity.
To press their case, the union launched a petition to the United States Federal Trade Commission, asking regulators to take a closer look at the deal and to protect jobs and creative freedom. The buyout announcement came in late September, when EA revealed plans that include taking on $20 billion in debt to fund the transaction. This public push from employees echoes earlier warnings about what a privatization could mean for studios and staff. For more background on those concerns, see the former BioWare producer’s warning about potential layoffs and studio sales reported by ConsolePCGaming.
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