Union says Bethesda parent slashed Montreal severance amid Fallout launch
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Laid-off staff at Bethesda's parent studio in Montreal say they were told, on the very day of Bethesda's major Fallout franchise announcement, that they would receive only the legal minimum severance and would lose health insurance immediately. Their union, OneBGS, has condemned the handling as "unconscionable", arguing the move reversed earlier assurances and left workers facing sudden financial and healthcare uncertainty just as the company was celebrating a high-profile reveal, drawing wider attention to how the games industry treats employees during restructuring.
According to the union, termination notices issued on 17 July contradicted an update from 6 July, in which staff had been told they could remain employed through September while severance terms were negotiated. OneBGS has contrasted the minimal payout offered to Montreal employees with the substantial financial resources of parent company Microsoft, saying local staff were treated more harshly than counterparts elsewhere, and has called for the severance terms to be reconsidered.
- Montreal Bethesda staff say they got minimum severance on Fallout reveal day.
- Union OneBGS calls the layoffs and timing "unconscionable".
- Notices reportedly contradicted earlier assurances of employment through September.
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Bethesda, the studio behind Fallout, is owned by ZeniMax Media, which in turn is part of Microsoft. Staff at its Montreal office have been affected by job cuts as part of wider restructuring within the studio, and those workers are represented by a union called OneBGS, which negotiates on their behalf over pay and conditions including severance packages.
Severance is money and benefits an employer gives staff when their jobs are cut, often covering a notice period, a payout, and continued perks such as health insurance while people look for new work. Companies sometimes negotiate enhanced severance beyond the legal minimum, and unions typically push for this on members' behalf, especially when a company is seen as financially well placed to afford it.
This matters because it touches on how a major, financially powerful games company treats staff let go during restructuring, and because the dispute has become entangled with the public unveiling of a new Fallout project, drawing extra attention to how the layoffs were handled.
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Originally published by GamesRadar+ as ““Unconscionable”: The day of Bethesda’s Fallout reveal explosion, its laid-off Montreal devs were told they “would receive the smallest severance legally possible” and “immediately” lose health insurance benefits, union says”.