Employees at Life Is Strange and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden developer Don't Nod will go on strike this week, following an announcement of sweeping layoffs at the studio.
Last month, Don't Nod announced that up to 69 employees' jobs could be at risk after a period of underperformance for the company. French union STJV then called on employees to strike, describing Don't Nod's redundancy plan as "the climax of a series of catastrophic decisions".
Now, according to a GamesIndustry.biz report, it seems that strike is indeed going ahead on Friday. The strike's picket line will apparently be next to the studio's Paris HQ, and employees are due to gather at 2pm local time.
According to the GI.biz report, employee demands include management abandoning the aforementioned redundancy plan, giving employees greater decision-making power at the studio, and CEO Oskar Guilbert attending the negotiations.
An open letter from Don't Nod employees also highlights what they call "delusions of grandeur" and "short-term thinking" at the studio, leading to what they describe as "a succession of negligent acts and bad decisions" on management's part.
The employees conclude by saying they want to save their studio, but "not at the price of unjustified redundancies or a deteriorated working environment".
This situation is occurring after what has been a trying period for Don't Nod, with several of the studio's recent projects, including climbing sim Jusant and action-RPG Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, underperforming compared to expectations.
Don't Nod isn't the only studio going on strike in recent months. Assassin's Creed Shadows studio Ubisoft, for instance, also faced employee strike action last month following criticisms from investors regarding decisions made by management.
The potential layoffs at the studio also come as part of a wider wave that's sweeping across the industry, catching big companies like Microsoft, Sony, and Take-Two, as well as smaller studios, in its wake.
