Video game union workers rally against $55B private acquisition of EA

Summary

EA employees and the Communications Workers of America union have issued a statement against the proposed private acquisition of the company, claiming they were not represented in the negotiations and any jobs lost as a result would "be a choice, not a necessity, made to pad investors' pockets". The acquisition of EA by a group of private investors was announced at the end of September. The deal, for $55bn, includes investment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners, the company of President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. Following the announcement, there's been plenty of speculation around the future of EA and its multiple owned studios, split between EA Sports and EA Entertainment. Now, members of the United Videogame Workers union and the CWA have issued a formal response alongside a petition for regulators to scrutinise the deal. "EA is not a struggling company," the statement reads. "With annual revenues reaching $7.5 billion and $1 billion in profit each year, EA is one of the largest video game developers and publishers in the world." This success has been driven by company workers, the union stated. "Yet we, the very people who will be jeopardised as a result of this deal, were not represented at all when this buyout was negotiated or discussed." Citing the number of layoffs across the industry since 2022, workers fear for "the future of our studios that are arbitrarily deemed 'less profitable' but whose contributions to the video game industry define EA's reputation." "If jobs are lost or studios are closed due to this deal, that would be a choice, not a necessity, made to pad investors' pockets - not to strengthen the company," the statement reads. "Every time private equity or billionaire investors take a studio private, workers lose visibility, transparency, and power," it continues. "Decisions that shape our jobs, our art, and our futures are made behind closed doors by executives who have never written a line of code,...