“The team is in trance”: what’s going on in Wargaming’s soon-to-be-closed office in Minsk, Belarus

Wargaming employees located in Minsk, Belarus, have opened up about the company’s decision to close this office and leave the country. It looks like they didn’t know about it beforehand and currently can’t understand whether they will be offered relocation options.

World of Tanks

dev.by, an Internet outlet about the IT industry in Belarus, spoke with several employees at Wargaming’s office in Minsk.

According to one employee, the whole team is now “in trance” because they didn’t expect the closure. They found out about the decision on April 4, although the company previously ensured that it had no plans to close its office in Minsk.

Wargaming employees were informed via an email signed by the company’s founder and CEO Victor Kislyi. It contained the same information as Wargaming’s public statement released yesterday, saying that it will be “providing as much severance and support as possible to our employees affected by the change.”

Everyone has two options right now — dismissal or relocation. “Relocation is provided in case you are a ‘valuable’ employee, though it is not clear what criteria they will be evaluated by,” one developer said. “Relocation options will be offered individually. Employees will be fired when the office is closed. Compensation is promised, but we still don’t know the terms.”

Team leaders are now urgently making calls with their teams, although they don’t have all the information.

Some members of the team believe that it will take four months to fully liquidate the Minsk office. Employees will have to decide whether to leave the company or relocate to another country.

“Personally, I have no idea what’s next, and neither do my colleagues,” one employee noted. “Relocation is an option, but conditions and location remain an open question. We will most likely be offered the same salary, but tax laws in another country can cut off our income. And I don’t know if the company will offer me this option at all. Right now, I don’t know whether to look for alternatives or not.”

Wargaming announced its decision to leave Russia and Belarus on April 4. The company is now preparing to transfer all its local business to Saint Petersburg-based Lesta Studio, which will operate World of Tanks and other games in these countries and won’t be affiliated with Wargaming anymore.