Ubisoft plans to decrease its staff numbers in Düsseldorf, Berlin, and Mainz through a "proposed voluntary departure plan"

Image credit: Ubisoft

Ubisoft plans to cut about 100 jobs across its locations in Düsseldorf, Berlin, and Mainz in Germany.

Last week, discussions began with the Works Council concerning a suggested plan for voluntary departures at these sites, a Ubisoft spokesperson confirmed to Game File.

This voluntary departure plan forms the main strategy to aid in the upcoming changes within the organization.

According to managing director Benedikt Grindel, the aim is to strategically position these German studios for future success through a defined focus on their roles and structures, as he communicated in an email following a company town hall.

Reports from Game File suggest that most job reductions will happen in Düsseldorf, which is the largest of these studios.

Last year, Düsseldorf was one of the studios included in 185 global job reductions, alongside sites in Stockholm, Reflections, and the closing of Ubisoft Leamington, as stated by GamesIndustry.biz.

Ubisoft did not disclose the exact number of employees who might be affected by these voluntary departures. Sources mention that Ubisoft and the Works Council are discussing a potential payout system that could offer severance of 1.5 times an employee’s monthly salary for each year of service.

The negotiation of this payout formula has not reached a conclusion, and it might change before being presented as an official offer. Additional compensation could be included.

A Ubisoft spokesperson stated that the details of this potential offer are still being discussed with employee representatives and no definitive decision has been made yet.

The German job cuts come after the closure of RedLynx and recent workforce reductions in Ubisoft Singapore, all part of the company's broader initiative to cut costs. This restructuring is part of Ubisoft's current phase directed at reducing expenses by $200 million, which also includes consolidating into six "Creative Houses", shutting down facilities in several locations, canceling six game projects, and a global workforce reduction.

In recent developments, Creative House 2 has been renamed Massive Entertainment, taking charge of franchises like Tom Clancy's The Division, Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, and new initiatives like March of the Giants.