超过 100 名动视暴雪员工在周二举行了罢工，要求科蒂克辞去首席执行官一职

Activision Blizzard confronted its second employee walkout in less than six months after a report raised new questions about CEO Bobby Kotick's knowledge of longstanding and widespread sexual harassment and discrimination allegations at the video game company.

More than 100 Activision Blizzard employees staged a walkout on Tuesday calling for Kotick to step down as CEO, according to the group organizing it. The walkout came in response to a Wall Street Journal investigation published earlier in the day, which cited internal company documents and people familiar with the matter indicating that Kotick was aware of those issues for several years.

In a video message to employees on Tuesday that was transcribed and posted on the company's website, Kotick claimed that the Journal story "paints an inaccurate and misleading view of our company, of me personally, and my leadership." He added that "anyone who doubts my conviction to be the most welcoming, inclusive workplace doesn't really appreciate how important this is to me."

While the report prompted renewed tension with some employees, Activision Blizzard's board of directors reiterated its support of Kotick. "The Board remains confident in Bobby Kotick's leadership, commitment and ability" to address the company's longstanding and ongoing issues with harassment and discrimination, it said in a statement Tuesday.

In a statement, the organizers behind the walkout said: "The board is just as complicit if they let this slide. It's past time for Bobby to step down."

Activision Blizzard (ATVI) — which owns hugely popular titles such as "Call of Duty," "World of Warcraft" and "Candy Crush" — has been roiled by a sexual harassment and discrimination scandal for months and is currently under scrutiny from multiple government agencies.

A lawsuit filed in July by California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleged a "frat boy" work culture where women were subjected to constant discrimination and harassment. (The company told CNN at the time that it had addressed past misconduct and criticized the lawsuit as "inaccurate" and "distorted.")

The lawsuit and the company's initial response kicked off a storm of dissent from Activision Blizzard's workforce that ultimately led to hundreds of employees staging a walkout at the company's offices in Irvine, California. Kotick subsequently acknowledged that the company's initial response was "tone deaf."

The company is also facing a complaint from the National Labor Relations Board filed in September accusing it of unfair labor practices, as well as an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission that the company has said it is cooperating with. Those actions are all still pending, and Activision Blizzard said it "continues to productively engage with regulators."

The company also paid $18 million to settle a separate lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that accused it of subjecting female employees to sexual harassment, retaliating against them for complaining about harassment, and paying female employees less than male employees. The company also "discriminated against employees due to their pregnancy," the EEOC alleged.

In a statement accompanying the EEOC settlement announcement, Kotick said he remained "unwavering in my commitment to make Activision Blizzard one of the world's most inclusive, respected, and respectful workplaces."

Kotick, who has been Activision CEO since 1991, including at the time of the 2008 merger with Blizzard, has been in damage control mode for most of this year.

Last month, he announced an intention to slash his controversial $155 million pay package — one of the largest in corporate America — to the "lowest amount California law will allow" until the gaming company fixes its issues with gender discrimination and harassment. If the board approves, Kotick will be paid $62,500, he said.

动视暴雪 CEO 在报告后面临员工要求下台的压力

动视暴雪在不到六个月的时间里面临第二次员工罢工，此前一份报告提出了新的问题，即首席执行官鲍比·科蒂克 (Bobby Kotick) 对视频游戏公司长期和广泛的性骚扰和歧视指控的了解。

据组织者称，超过 100 名动视暴雪员工在周二举行了罢工，要求科蒂克辞去首席执行官一职。罢工是对当天早些时候发布的《华尔街日报》调查的回应，该调查引用了公司内部文件和知情人士，表明 Kotick 多年来一直意识到这些问题。

在周二发给员工的视频消息中，该消息被转录并发布在公司网站上，科蒂克声称，《华尔街日报》的故事“描绘了对我们公司、我个人和我的领导层的不准确和误导性的看法。”他补充说：“任何怀疑我成为最热情、最包容的工作场所的信念的人都不会真正意识到这对我来说有多重要。”

尽管该报告再次引发了与一些员工的紧张关系，但动视暴雪的董事会重申了对 Kotick 的支持。 “董事会仍然相信 Bobby Kotick 的领导力、承诺和能力”，以解决公司长期存在的骚扰和歧视问题，它在周二的一份声明中表示。

在一份声明中，罢工背后的组织者说：“如果他们让这次滑坡，董事会也是同谋。鲍比下台的时间已经过去了。”

动视暴雪（ATVI）——拥有《使命召唤》、《魔兽世界》和《糖果粉碎传奇》等广受欢迎的游戏——几个月来一直受到性骚扰和歧视丑闻的困扰，目前正受到多个政府的审查机构。

加利福尼亚州公平就业和住房部于 7 月提起诉讼，指控“兄弟会”的工作文化，女性经常受到歧视和骚扰。 （该公司当时告诉 CNN，它已经解决了过去的不当行为，并批评该诉讼“不准确”和“歪曲”。）

这起诉讼和该公司的初步回应引发了动视暴雪员工的反对风暴，最终导致数百名员工在该公司位于加利福尼亚州尔湾的办公室举行罢工。科蒂克随后承认，该公司最初的反应是“聋子”。

该公司还面临美国国家劳资关系委员会在 9 月份提出的指控，指控其不公平的劳工行为，以及美国证券交易委员会的调查，该公司表示正在配合调查。这些行动仍然悬而未决，动视暴雪表示“将继续与监管机构进行富有成效的接触”。

该公司还支付了 1800 万美元以解决平等就业机会委员会 (EEOC) 的另一起诉讼，该诉讼指控其对女性员工进行性骚扰，对投诉骚扰的女性员工进行报复，以及支付给女性员工的薪酬低于男性员工。 EEOC 称，该公司还“因员工怀孕而歧视他们”。

在 EEOC 和解公告附带的一份声明中，科蒂克表示，他仍然“坚定不移地致力于让动视暴雪成为世界上最具包容性、最受尊重和最受尊重的工作场所之一。”

Kotick 自 1991 年以来一直担任动视首席执行官，包括 2008 年与暴雪合并时，今年大部分时间都处于损害控制模式。

上个月，他宣布打算将其备受争议的 1.55 亿美元薪酬方案——美国最大的企业之一——削减至“加州法律允许的最低数额”，直到这家游戏公司解决性别歧视和骚扰问题。他说，如果董事会批准，科蒂克将获得 62,500 美元的报酬。