Activision Blizzard employees stage walkout, calling for the removal of Bobby Kotick as CEO

Around 150 Activision Blizzard workers are staging a walkout today, in response to the Wall Street Journal’s damning report on the company, particularly on allegations that CEO Bobby Kotick has been aware of sexual misconduct at the company for years and elected, in some cases, to protect the alleged abusers.

ABetterABK, a worker’s alliance of Activision Blizzard employees, took to Twitter to call for a walkout in response to the report.

“We have instituted our own Zero Tolerance Policy,” said the group. “We will not be silenced until Bobby Kotick has been replaced as CEO, and continue to hold our original demand for Third-Party review by an employee-chosen source. We are staging a Walkout today. We welcome you to join us.”

https://twitter.com/ABetterABK/status/1460709188070518786

Despite the damning allegations against him and the company, Activision’s board of directors are standing behind Kotick, releasing a statement that the board “remains confident” in Kotick’s “leadership, commitment and ability.”

ABetterABK has in turn condemned this reponse, stating that: “Under Bobby Kotick’s leadership the company has been accused of mistreatment, sexual harassment, rape, and a death threat made by Kotick himself. The board is just as complicit if they let this slide. It’s past time for Bobby to step down.”

Activision Blizzard denies the allegations against it in the WSJ report, saying that the paper presents an “inaccurate and misleading view of Activision Blizzard and our CEO.”