Devs are not as easy to replace as factory workers, EU and US/CA software talent is top tier. I’d imagine even factory workers aren’t so easy to replace these days.
One issue is that unions have failed to globalize while industries have. CDPR could simply chose to bypass the union by opening a dev studio in a country with no or less union presence.
Given the recent wave of layoffs in the game industry, they’ll have no shortage finding capable people.
Dark_Arc@social.packetloss.gg 8 months ago
echo64@lemmy.world 8 months ago
i don’t buy into this defeatist attitude at all I’m sorry.
to do that without working with the unions in good faith, they would have to lay everyone off then meander for a few years rebuilding somewhere else. it’s not a quick process. and then probably release something of even lower quality than their recent releases.
the only way to do what you are saying is to work with the unions for the current projects and work to build non union studios for future projects. which unions would probably fight.
wim@lemmy.sdf.org 8 months ago
I’m not trying to be defeatist. I’m just advocating for unions to stop focusing on the local aspect.
Something which larger unions, such as the steel and car industry unions in Europe have been trying (and mostly failing) to do for almost two decades.
Companies, by and large, have used the globalized economy to sidestep local action for almost 30 years now.
Ignoring this is simply a recepy for repeating the mistakes of the past. Especially in software, where there is no physical production equipment at all, and in games, where talent and labour is plentiful.
Unless you have an organization that reaches as far as the companies you’re trying to bring to the table, you will simply outmanœuvred.
You also overestimate the level of union participation if you think they would need to lay off everyone to break a union strike.
Feel free to tell me I’m wrong, but I’ve been through the proces twice, both involving union action, both in the software industry. Once as part of the workers delegation to the negotiating table. Dismiss a company’s ruthlessness or resourcefulness at your own peril.
Local unions can only hope to hold off the axe until current projects where the required know how can not be rebuilt or transfered in time are done.
Puzzle_Sluts_4Ever@lemmy.world 8 months ago
It is worth understanding that, at least historically, CDP is a lot closer to “Polish Electronic Arts” than a dev studio. Not sure how that has shifted over the past decade or so and the new approach to localization and distribution.
I doubt they are going to shut the doors and move. But it is a possibility. Just cite that the CP expansion hasn’t sold well enough and they were still recovering from the initial bomb of CP and that they were counting on that Witcher 1 remake and it is a hard time financially and they would be operating at a much smaller capacity while they reorg. Do layoffs that are legally legit, and then reopen elsewhere citing concerns over geopolitics.
But yeah. My money is more on satellite studios that eventually become the primary. Takes a few years longer but drastically reduces union power and gives a warning to the industry as a whole. And is generally the solution in these situations.