Microsoft outsourcing and RTO prompts ZeniMax union workers to call a strike in protest

ZeniMax staff called a strike over Microsoft’s decision to outsource QA work without addressing the topic with the Communication Workers of America first

Microsoft

ZeniMax staff called a strike over Microsoft’s decision to outsource QA work without addressing the topic with the Communication Workers of America first. The strike lasted for one day, from 10 a.m. local time until 6 p.m. local time, and included members of the Fallout, Doom, and Starfield development teams.

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ZeniMax QA workers voted to unionize in early 2023 and became the first union officially recognized under Microsoft. Xbox leadership promised to abide by Microsoft’s labor neutrality pledge and avoid interfering in labor organization efforts, though that pledge evidently doesn’t extend to outsourcing work.

The striking workers were also expressing their dissatisfaction with parent company Bethesda’s remote work policies. Like with Activision Blizzard earlier in 2024, QA workers consider Bethesda’s return-to-office policy – directed, it seems, only against quality assurance team members – a soft layoff in disguise. Those who were hired under a remote work policy and are unable to relocate to ZeniMax’s campus risk losing their jobs.

The prospect of unemployment is hardly easy to face at the best of times, but it’s even worse in 2024, when tens of thousands of developers have lost their jobs as the industry shrinks. Gains in 2025 may happen as analysts predict, but whether they result in new positions is another matter – especially since, in the interim, talent will have had to find work elsewhere.

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Microsoft and ZeniMax made no official statement in response to the strike, and it’s unclear whether QA workers will hold another protest in the near future.