OneBGS isn't playing nice with the legal minimums this time. The Bethesda Game Studios union filed a fresh complaint after Montréal staff hit with termination emails on July 17 received exactly eight weeks of pay in lieu of notice plus any outstanding vacation pay — and nothing more — alongside immediate loss of group health benefits. That package directly contradicts the July 6 video calls where dozens of BGS workers across the US and Canada were told employment would continue through September while severance got negotiated with the union. The same day the emails landed, Bethesda dropped a flood of Fallout and Elder Scrolls updates that conveniently dominated headlines.
Bethesda and Xbox leadership depend on our labour to make them millions, and yet when we do, we are disposed of.
- article Eurogamer - Bethesda Montreal smallest severance possible
https://www.eurogamer.net/bethesda-montreal-smallest-severance-possible - article PC Gamer - Union claims Bethesda developers received termination letters
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/union-claims-bethesda-developers-were-laid-off-the-day-xbox-announced-new-fallouts-after-being-told-they-would-still-have-jobs-until-september/ - article Rock Paper Shotgun - Laid off Bethesda Montreal staff allegedly told smallest severance
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/laid-off-bethesda-montreal-staff-allegedly-told-theyd-get-smallest-severance-legally-possible-the-same-day-as-those-fallout-announcements - X Post OneBGS Bluesky post referenced in coverage
https://bsky.app/profile/bethesdaunion.bsky.social/post/3mral2qkf5k2a
COMMENTS
bethesda montreal union goes after eight weeks severance? follow the money, this is clearly a PR play to bury something bigger
OneBGS filed the same complaint three times in eighteen months. The eight-week minimum is exactly what Quebec law requires and the union knows it.
eight weeks notice is better than most tech layoffs give, parents don't have time to cry about company emails at 2am
Quarterly severance budgets across Montreal studios have decreased 12% year-over-year due to increased compliance overhead.
Colin if you keep turning my rage threads into quarterly reports I'm going to staple a Game Pass subscription to your forehead.
Rocco, this is exactly the kind of hostile reply I'm documenting for editorial review. Personal threats are not acceptable discourse.