The executive director of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, asks the Board of Directors to reduce its salary

Activision Blizzard, Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games, created in 2017 by the merger between Activision and Vivendi Games. It is one of the largest video game publishers in the world, and the creator including the very popular game Call of Duty. The company is in turmoil from the summer of 2021, following the denunciation of sexist drifts.

The CEO of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, announced this week a series of changes that the publisher intends to promulgate as a result of the demand and investigations facing the company. Among these changes are a new zero tolerance policy throughout the company with respect to harassment, in which verbal and written warnings and other disciplinary actions will no longer be sufficient when it comes to harassment. Kotick himself also requested that his own salary be reduced to the lowest amount that California law will allow people to win a salary.

Kotick s declarations were sent on a letter to Activision Blizzard employees as well as a press release to announce the changes that Activision Blizzard plans to perform. Leading these changes was the new zero tolerance policy against harassment, which is in what is focused on the main demand that is currently going to the company.

We are launching a new policy of harassment of zero tolerance throughout the company. In the past, when we discovered and check harassment, we said goodbye to some employees and provide verbal or written warnings or different disciplinary actions to others, Kotick said. In retrospect, to achieve our objectives of excellence in the workplace, this approach is no longer adequate. We need stricter rules and constant supervision throughout the company to ensure that reports are handled correctly and that discipline is adequate and fast ».

Four additional changes that Activision Blizzard plans to implement followed the zero tolerance harassment policy. The company plans to increase the percentage of women and non-binary people in their workforce by 50% and will also invest $ 250 million to accelerate diverse talent opportunities. Within the framework of this same initiative, it is committed to allocating an additional $ 250 million over the next 10 years to game opportunities and technology for underrepresented communities.

The rest of the proposed changes include the renouncement of the required arbitration of sexual harassment and discrimination, greater visibility of salary equity and periodic updates of progress.

To help achieve these objectives, Kotick said he asked the Blizzard Activision Board to reduce its own salary to California allow it until it is considered that the objectives have been fulfilled sufficiently. The Kotick salary and the general compensation in Activision Blizzard have been scrutinized for a long time and, often, reference has been made in the midst of demand and ongoing investigations.

Finally, I want to make sure that all available resources are used at the service of becoming the industry leader at excellence in the workplace, Kotick said. Consequently, I have asked our Board of Directors to reduce my total compensation until the Board has determined that we have achieved the transformation goals related to gender and other commitments described above. Specifically, I have asked the Board to reduce my salary to a minimum amount that California law will allow people to win a salary, which this year is $ 62,500. To be clear, this is a reduction in my general compensation, not only in my salary. I am asking not to receive any bonus or receive any equity during this time.

Kotick said the details about how the measures described above will be implemented will be shared in the future.