protesting video-game workers in montreal denounce microsoft’s layoffs

dozens of video-game workers protested in montreal on wednesday to denounce microsoft’s mass layoffs, alleging the tech giant interfered with collective bargaining when it let go of 1,600 workers in its xbox gaming division last week.they argue that because they are in negotiation for their first collective agreement, they should be protected under labour laws from management decisions that manipulate the bargaining process, union organizer and former game developer simon préfontaine explained at wednesday’s protest.“microsoft has still made over $100 billion. the xbox division — they haven't even said that they're losing money. they just said they haven't reached the goals that they themselves set,” said préfontaine, who was laid off last monday after working nine years at bethesda game studios, a formerly independent studio that was acquired by microsoft in 2021. some of his colleagues, he said, worked for bethesda for nearly 30 years.“that's a lot of institutional knowledge out the door,” he said, noting that he worries another 1,600 layoffs are still coming over the next year.this set of layoffs is the latest in a series of video-game and tech-industry job losses throughout canada that have sparked outcry among union organizers. ubisoft closed its halifax office in january weeks after it unionized, and its winnipeg studio in june. behaviour interactive, the montreal-based developer of the popular video game dead by daylight, has reportedly implemented several rounds of layoffs since 2024, most recently in april. and early last year, amazon shuttered its facilities in quebec, shortly after a warehouse in laval decided to unionize.bethesda game studios was among the first video-game companies in canada to see its workers unionize, when in 2024 they joined cwa canada, an autonomous branch of communications workers of america. according to préfontaine, they began bargaining for a collective agreement in february 2025. editorial staff at the gazette are also members of cwa canada, and share the same local as bethesda game studios workers: game & media guild of canada.the gazette reached out to microsoft for comment on the allegations and asked for confirmation on the number of layoffs, but did not receive a response in time for publication. while the reason for the layoffs has not been made public by the company, cwa canada organizer nasr ahmed believes the root cause of layoffs across the industry is corporate greed and profit maximization, given that video game and tech companies are still highly profitable. according to microsoft's 2025 annual report, net income was $101.8 billion, up 15.5 per cent from the previous year.“if they can pay workers less because of ai, they can pay workers less because of outsourcing (overseas), if they can pay workers less for any number of reasons, that's what they're going to try and do. and at the end of the day, it's the workers that make these games,” ahmed said in an interview.at the protest, he accused microsoft and other tech companies of illegally interfering with collective bargaining through mass layoffs and closures.“there are labour laws on the books that protect workers from companies essentially trying to drag their feet in collective bargaining, and trying to essentially restructure their companies,” he said. “that's what we believe microsoft is doing here, not only here in montreal but at bethesda game studios around the u.s.”while préfontaine is frustrated with the company’s recent decisions, he says organizers are fighting for the laid-off employees to get their jobs back, and for “decent severance” for those who won’t return to the company, “because the job market is pretty horrible.”“i'm a single dad with a mortgage. i could really use a job.”