Ubisoft closes its recently-unionized Halifax studio, says it's not because of the unionizing

Two weeks ago, staff at Ubisoft Halifax officially formed a union, with 74% of its employees voting in favor of forming a bargaining unit after the Assassin's Creed Rebellion developer filed for unionization in June. Today, Ubisoft announced that it's closing the Halifax studio, claiming that the timing is merely coincidental (via GamesIndustry.biz).

"Over the past 24 months, Ubisoft has undertaken company-wide actions to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and reduce costs," the publisher said in a statement. "As part of this, Ubisoft has made the difficult decision to close its Halifax studio. 71 positions will be affected."

Carmel Smyth, president of the studio union's parent organization CWA Canada, called the news "devastating."

"We will pursue every legal recourse to ensure that the rights of these workers are respected and not infringed in any way," Smyth said in a press release. "We will be looking for Ubisoft to show us that this had nothing to do with the employees joining a union. The workers, their families, the people of Nova Scotia, and all of us who love videogames made in Canada, deserve nothing less."

Ubisoft Halifax began as a branch of Longtail Studios, founded in 2003 by Ubisoft co-founder Gérard Guillemot. As IGN reported in 2023, Longtail's Quebec branch had previously started one of North America's earliest game studio unionization efforts in 2008, which ultimately collapsed thanks to company management's opposition to the organization drive.

Longtail's Halifax branch would later become Ubisoft Halifax following the studio's acquisition in 2015. Since then, its development efforts have been centered on Ubisoft mobile titles like Assassin's Creed Rebellion and Rainbow Six Mobile.

Ubisoft isn't the only major company in the industry that's recently eliminated the jobs of employees who've pursued workplace unionization. Last year, Rockstar fired more than 30 GTA 6 developers who had been involved in labor organization, generating internal and external protest and inviting parliamentary skepticism despite the company's claims that the workers had engaged in "gross misconduct."

Ubisoft claims the Halifax studio's closure is unrelated to its recent unionization, but was instead part of its larger cost-reduction effort that's produced years of similar studio shutterings, "voluntary career transitions," and widespread layoffs. The company said it's "committed to supporting all impacted team members" with severance packages and career assistance.