Activision Blizzard Faces Discrimination Lawsuit from Former Executive

A former executive of Activision Blizzard presented one complaint against the company, accusing it of discriminate against “older whites”.

The complaint specifically includes allegations against former CEO Bobby Kotick for inelegant remarks made during an unspecified conference with management, in which he allegedly stated that Activision Blizzard’s “problem” is that “there are too many older white men.”

The complaint was filed by a 57-year-old white man who worked for the company from 2014 until he was fired in 2023 as part of a corporate restructuring done by ABK. He claims that a couple of executives left the company after these alleged “ageist remarks by Kotick,” adding that “Activision put profits before people firing senior, paid executives.”

He added that one of the outgoing executives had recommended him as his replacement, but that he had been passed over in favor of a younger, non-white employee, who therefore became his superior. The plaintiff, among other things, accuses the latter of creating a hostile work environment, of unfairly criticizing his work and of giving him the lowest merit pay increase he ever received during his career at Activision Blizzard. The former manager also filed a complaint with human resources, accusing the company of failing to “protect him from discriminatory and defamatory allegations” from his colleagues, but that his complaint was “ignored and not taken seriously.” .

According to the complaint, he was fired as part of a restructuring of the “Central Tech” department that took place in August 2023. Out of a team of 200 people, he and six other men aged 47 or older were fired. The lawsuit notes that Activision currently has open job postings for roles in the same department.

The plaintiff is seeking compensation for loss of earnings, negative impact on career progression, damage to reputation, emotional distress and wrongful termination, as well as legal costs.

Activision Blizzard’s discrimination lawsuits

Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard

Even in the past the company was taken to court for discrimination. Activision Blizzard last month agreed to pay $54 million in a 2021 California Civil Rights Department (CCRD) discrimination lawsuit against female employees.

In 2022 it settled a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the USA which accused the publisher of having discriminated against female employees and pregnant women, also retaliating against those who had reported such discrimination.

2024-01-06 20:11:26
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