Xbox union fighting back with ‘Save Our Devs’ rally on July 15
Bethesda Game Studios union workers under the OneBGS banner will hold a ‘Save Our Devs’ march in protest of yet another round of mass layoffs across Xbox.
An email sent to union members by the OneBGS Mobilizing Committee (obtained by Game Developer) and multiple call-to-actions shared online have confirmed the rally will be held on July 15 the offices of ZeniMax studios in Rockville, Austin, Dallas, and Montreal.
“Microsoft and ZeniMax leadership have made the devastating decision to slash over 440 positions across BGS, ZOS, id, ZWU(QA) and ZeniMax corporate (including CTO and CSUR). Because we organized and certified our unions, we have hard-won legal rights and protections that non-unionized studios simply do not have,” said the union.
“The company wants us to accept this as a done deal and quietly disappear. We won’t let that happen. Our next steps are to mobilize. We need every single member visible and unified.”
OneBGS said Microsoft has laid off 35 positions at Bethesda Game Studios in the United States and at least 12 more in Montreal.
WARN notices obtained by Game Developer have confirmed that 136 employees working at the office of id Software in Rockville have been laid off alongside 379 ZeniMax workers split across two offices in Maryland (including ZeniMax Online Studios).
Microsoft intends to cut 3,200 roles across Xbox by the end of the current fiscal year in June 2027. Xbox boss Asha Sharma said those layoffs will enable the video game division to “reset” after failing to capitalize on big bets such as Xbox Game Pass and a multiplatform pivot.
OneBGS said the cuts are being framed by Microsoft as an “entrepreneurial change in the scope of business.” The union has rejected that claim and said it will push Microsoft to relocate laid off members by placing them into open roles across Xbox.
“Microsoft and BGS are trying to frame these 35 cuts as an ‘entrepreneurial change in the scope of business,’ claiming they are transitioning from a ‘studio-based business model to a franchise-based model’ to dodge their legal obligation to bargain the decision with us. We completely reject this corporate wordplay. Changing a title on a PowerPoint slide does not erase our legal right to a say in our working conditions,” reads the email.
“While we push that legal fight forward, Microsoft is still legally required right now to sit down with us for ‘Effects Bargaining.’ This means we have the right to negotiate exactly how these layoffs impact our people, and we are heading to the table to fight for every single affected worker. We are going to be demanding preferential transfers to force Microsoft to place affected BGS workers into open roles across Xbox and Microsoft first, stronger severance and extended healthcare to ensure no one is financially abandoned, as well as recall rights to ensure our laid-off members are the first ones hired back when BGS expands.”
OneBGS said union members must show Xbox management “that we mean business” and stand in solidarity to ensure the company is forced to “think twice before ever attempting something like this again.”
“Stay strong, look out for one another, and we look forward to seeing us all marching together on the 15th,” continues the email. “Important: as certified union members engaging in protected concerted activity, we have the legal right to participate in this march without retaliation.”
