Kotick wrote:
Over the past decade, as we’ve introduced in new firms, grown our workforce, and expanded our enterprise, we believed we had the programs, insurance policies, and folks in place to make sure that our firm all the time lived as much as its popularity as an important place to work. Clearly, in some vitally necessary points, we didn’t.
The guardrails weren’t in place in all places to make sure that our values have been being upheld. In some instances, individuals didn’t constantly really feel snug reporting issues, or their issues weren’t all the time addressed promptly or correctly. Individuals have been deeply let down and, for that, I’m actually sorry.
Activision Blizzard is being sued by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), which describes its office, significantly at subsidiary Blizzard Leisure, as a “breeding floor for harassment and discrimination towards girls.” The corporate is preventing the go well with. In the meantime, the Securities and Alternate Fee is investigating its dealing with of those points.
Activision Blizzard was additionally sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Alternative Fee, which alleged “sex-based discrimination, together with harassment” in its office; it settled, promising to create an $18 million fund to compensate claimants. DFEH has criticized the phrases of the settlement, which has but to be accredited by the courts. It argues that $18 million is just too little.
Kotick has been CEO of Activision Blizzard since its creation in 2008, and held the identical position at its predecessor Activision from 1991. Final yr, he earned $154 million, which made him the second-highest-paid CEO within the U.S. according to The Wall Street Journal. He has agreed for his compensation this yr to be lowered to $62,500, California’s authorized decrease restrict for “white-collar” salaried staff at giant firms.
