Blizzard Entertainment staff members are sharing their salaries as they revolt over pay discrepancies.
As reported by Bloomberg, employees started sharing a spreadsheet last week, in which those who wished to could post their current salary whilst remaining anonymous. It follows an internal survey that revealed more than half of Blizzard’s staff were unsatisfied with their wages last year.
On the spreadsheet, the majority of entries are salaries that experienced a pay rise of less than 10 per cent. While that may still sound like a decent increase, it is actually less than what the staff members were promised.
“Our goal has always been to ensure we compensate our employees fairly and competitively,” said Activision Blizzard spokeswoman Jessica Taylor.
“We are constantly reviewing compensation philosophies to better recognise the talent of our highest performers and keep us competitive in the industry, all with the aim of rewarding and investing more in top employees.”
Too much pay
Multiple staff members came forward to explain that life can be a struggle due to the low wages, despite the extra responsibilities they may have taken on. To make ends meet and get the salary that they deserve, some Blizzard employees have sought employment elsewhere.
Besides the employees being unhappy with their wages, some of which are on minimum salary depending upon their job title – game testers – but some people have shown dissatisfaction with how much Activision Blizzard has compensated CEO Bobby Kotick. A company shareholder has recently accused the company of finding “multiple unnecessary ways to enrich its CEO.”
However, it is worth noting that this appears to be an industry problem, hence the call for unionisation. Furthermore, EA investors have shown disdain for the amount of money paid to company executives, particularly CEO Andrew Wilson, who makes 56 per cent more than other execs.
