The EU Blizzard Customer Support team will lose over 100 of its staff by the end of 2018, due to a cash incentive. The main EU office is located in Cork, Ireland, and it’s home to a relatively large staff. However, many of their team have accepted money to leave the company, taking advantage of a voluntary program that encourages employees to resign.
This has significantly increased the workload for the remaining staff members, forcing them to pick up the slack of those who left. The incentive program has been offered to staff members at the Cork office at least five times, and many have reported that the money was, “too good to pass up,” according to an anonymous source.
Customers seeking support will now likely struggle to get the help they need, due to the lack of staff, and this will likely lower the morale in the workplace. Blizzard claims that they do not encourage employees to take advantage of this program and that it is voluntary. In a statement to Eurogamer, Blizzard addressed the situation:
The employees who are choosing to leave the company later this month are taking advantage of a voluntary and longstanding program we offer in various locations around the world. This program, which has proven popular in the past, gives eligible staff the option to make the most of incentives while proactively pursuing other career opportunities. No one is required or encouraged to participate in this program, but for those who do, we work hard to make it generous.
However, a Kotaku report stated that Blizzard set this in motion in an attempt to cut costs. The company is also being pushed to release more games more regularly to stagger its monthly users. While this story is still developing, it is absolutely fascinating that over 100 staff members will be resigning from the company and leaving so much work behind. Blizzard assures the community that customer service is a priority, a priority which will be hard to manage with so few staff members.
[Source: Eurogamer]
