Microsoft-Activision-Blizzard always reminds me of this:
theonion.com/just-six-corporations-remain-1819564…
Keep in mind that article is from 1998. Prescient as always, the Onion really is America’s Finest News Source™.
The FTC isn’t too happy with Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard layoffs
Submitted 9 months ago by reddig33@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.polygon.com/24065269/ftc-microsoft-activision-deal-layoffs-appeal
Comments
bartolomeo@suppo.fi 9 months ago
nicetriangle@kbin.social 9 months ago
There's a book called The Media Monopoly that details how all of the media companies in the world have consolidated to just a handful of mega corps and the book had to be republished 5 times since the 80s because every few years the number keeps shrinking dramatically. The author later released a brand new book called The New Media Monopoly which is essentially the 7th edition of the original book and at this point we're in a fucked up late stage version of the problem he originally detailed.
Maggoty@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Then there’s the entire idea of Corporations. They used to be limited to government issued charters. Now they’re independent shield entities for rich people with human rights.
cygon@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Bill Clinton, chief executive of U.S. Government, a division of MCI-WorldCom, praised Monday’s merger as “an excellent move.”
I’ll be… they even predicted the “sovereign citizen” movement!
Maggoty@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Bill Clinton, chief executive of U.S. Government, a division of MCI-WorldCom, praised Monday’s merger as “an excellent move.”’
LMAO
HaveYouPaidYourDues@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Taco Bell won the franchise wars
rambling_lunatic@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
The Onion always tells factual stories. They’re just stories from the future.
WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world 9 months ago
jballs@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
Damn, would be crazy if they succeed in undoing the merger. Would be nice to see some consequences for blatantly lying to the court.
zcd@lemmy.ca 9 months ago
No you see it’s OK to lie to the court when you’re rich or a multinational company
Coasting0942@reddthat.com 9 months ago
Hmm, SCOTUS can see no issue with that argument. Passes historicity test for what the founders intended.
nicetriangle@kbin.social 9 months ago
The actual fuck did they think was gonna happen? Literally everyone saw this coming except the FTC somehow I guess.
brisk@aussie.zone 9 months ago
The FTC argued this would happen, it’s the court that swallowed Microsoft’s tripe. This is the FTC’s “I told you, bro!”
PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world 9 months ago
The FTC knew it was coming, and tried to stop the merger. But they got shot down in the courts, because a judge believed Microsoft was going to be benevolent and not immediately lay off all of the acquired company’s employees.
This is the FTC’s way of publicly slapping the judge.
frostysauce@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I’m sure the judge is losing sleep over this…
NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 9 months ago
The FTC tried to stop the merger, it’s not their fault. Blame the courts.
magnetosphere@kbin.social 9 months ago
Microsoft reneged on promises it made in court…
If those promises aren’t legally binding, then why take them into account in the first place?
Asafum@feddit.nl 9 months ago
I will literally never understand why the word of a corporation has any weight if it isn’t bound by law.
You need toforce corporations to act if it’s against their own interests.
jkrtn@lemmy.ml 9 months ago
It is because the billionaires write the laws through ALEC. The only part of the system which isn’t working as intended is that they had to make any promises in the first place.
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
Microsoft has realized it can do absolutely anything and that the government will do absolutely nothing. And what is the point of all of this? A few Already, enormously wealthy executives get a few more millions of dollars? Who fucking cares? The real important thing is the people doing the work to create a product that millions of others enjoy. That they have a job and can earn a livelihood. But none of that matters to the psychopaths who run these corporations. Why do we continue to allow this to happen? I don’t know why I even bother writing comments anymore. I’ve depressed myself.
ExpectedWall@lemmy.world 9 months ago
The only way to fight back is with your wallet. Unfortunately we are SUBSTANTIALLY outnumbered. It is what it is.
Malfeasant@lemmy.world 9 months ago
This is why I have no qualms about piracy. The workers get shafted either way.
MxM111@kbin.social 9 months ago
What’s the alternative? Communism? State ownership of the means of production? Those are worse.
yeahiknow3@lemmings.world 9 months ago
Yes, the only options are crony capitalism and communism. Nailed it.
bartolomeo@suppo.fi 9 months ago
Doesn’t it seem like communism and capitalism have the same end game? Company towns and one company that produces everything and you have no options. The only difference I guess is that under capitalism, the owners of the means of production are not accountable to anyone and can not be removed whereas under communism the owners of the means of production are democratically elected members of the workforce that are accountable to the people and can be removed if need be.
Are you sure you’re not confusing communism with authoritarianism or fascism? Capitalism is more closely associated with the latter than communism.
wrath_of_grunge@kbin.social 9 months ago
i'm all for the government breaking up corps, or stopping mergers, but this one needed to happen. however much it cost to get Bobby Kotick gone, is a net positive.
besides, we're talking about spending Microsoft's money. they fucking got it. so what's the fuss?
if the deal had been blocked, how would that have been better for the industry? also, probably the more important question, how would that have been better for the consumer?
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
I’m not upset about the merger. I’m upset about Microsoft lying to the government and probably getting away with it. And the money should be used to pay the employees who actually create the products, not gone too enrich the assholes in charge, who think they do important jobs.
Defaced@lemmy.world 9 months ago
You’re kidding right? Bobby Kotick doesn’t give a shit, he’s laughing all the way to the bank. He’s the only winner in this situation other than Microsoft. Regardless of the Microsoft merger, he was on his way out, he would’ve left even if it hadn’t gone through, this just gave him an excuse to leave quicker and get a fat paycheck on his way out.
It’s also not about spending Microsoft’s money. Yes they have it, but consolidating so many developers under one roof removes an aspect of the competitive market. Which historically means less competition, higher prices, less innovation and poor quality control.
But I mean, hey, you get CoD on gamepass now! That’s pretty cool right?! Right…?
dunestorm@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Blizzard don’t make Blizzard games anymore, all of the original staff left a very long time ago. They are just Blizzard in name and nothing else.
Vaderhoff@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I don’t think I’ve seen a game studio acquisition happen without layoffs of some sort. Doesn’t make it right, but it does seem like a horrible routine.
dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 months ago
The price tag, followed by a massive round of layoffs is eyebrow-raising.
sunbeam60@lemmy.one 9 months ago
Stock markets love capex, hates opex.
“Well done, you’ve spent 75 billion to buy market share!!”
“Oh no, you would spend at least 230 million/year for these employees - that just won’t do”.
Nevermind the fact that 1900 roles also buys market share (and you could run 1900 people for 300+ years), but opex is opex and execs are bonused on margins.
dunestorm@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Yeah but 1,900 staff, come the fuck on that’s a mass exodus not a layoff. I’m in a company of 300+ people and it’s a HUGE number of people, I can hardly process over 6x as many layoffs…
Vaderhoff@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Oh absolutely agreed. It just sucks that this isn’t unusual, no matter how small or great the number. Hope the peeps get snatched up by better studios
CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I don’t think I’ve seen a game studio acquisition happen without layoffs of some sort. Doesn’t make it right, but it does seem like a horrible routine.
It really depends on if the layoffs were done because they were duplicate people for the same job position, versus clearing house so that the stockholders are happier by have better profits.
eronth@lemmy.world 9 months ago
And yet
FenrirIII@lemmy.world 9 months ago
What did they think was going to happen?
pdxfed@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Well I for one am shocked to see a megacap do significant layoffs after M&A, talk about breaking with tradition!
secundnature@lemmy.world 9 months ago
They talk about broken promises and misrepresentation of what they would do after the merger. Corporations aren’t people and don’t have morals to stop them from breaking promises or just flat out lying. The only way they will do anything is if it makes them money or they are forced (regulated)
gian@lemmy.grys.it 9 months ago
Corporations aren’t people and don’t have morals to stop them from breaking promises or just flat out lying
I think this is pure bullshit. In the end corporation are guided by people, who make decision and have a clear chain of command. When a corporation promise something, there are people behind that signed off the promise.
And you can punish a corporation by simply punishing the people who sign off what the corporatoion does, at any level. I mean, it is good to be the CEO and get the big bucks, fine, but if the corporation you are CEO of does something wrong it is your responsability to fix it and take the punishment for it.
Ookami38@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
The problem is that the actual people who make decisions are -legally required- to seek as much profit as possible, for any public for-profit company. Saying you can punish the individual in charge for behaving immorally puts them in a catch-22. Suddenly, they’re damned if they make a moral decision that costs shareholders money, and damned if they make an immoral decision in pursuit of profit.
We need a better system where profit isn’t the final thing, or at least isn’t the ONLY thing. The punishments need to come, somehow, from the whole company, but as is that’s really only punishing the have-nots at the bottom of the stack, for any financial punishment for them will hurt much more than a punishment for those at the top, and obviously imprisonment is off the table unless -an individual- does something worth imprisonment.
secundnature@lemmy.world 9 months ago
There aren’t laws saying the company had to tell the truth, so if they lie, what’s the punishment?
Maggoty@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I agree with you, but the organizations clearly have no morals. If you want to infer that means the boardroom occupants are a bunch of ghouls then sure. But we haven’t meaningfully held an executive to account for a corporation’s actions for a long time. The end effect is a sociopathic pursuit of money.
Vaderhoff@lemmy.world 9 months ago
This also pretty shitty on account that Kotick initiated loads of layoffs just before acquisition talks were even public. This is usual practice to make the company seem more valuable.
BmeBenji@lemm.ee 9 months ago
And I’m not too happy that capitalism chows down on the poor like the fucking Oroborus it is yet here we fuckin are.
theodewere@kbin.social 9 months ago
but how can i, a humble citizen, help the FTC in its long term mission of protecting my labor rights.. what can i do to help them be more effective in labor negotiations on my behalf, i wonder..
BigTrout75@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Like when do big mergers like this not end in layoffs? The redundancy in management wouldn’t make sense. Like what does the FTC think Microsoft was going to do? 😆
Sacha@lemmy.world 9 months ago
It was more than just managers and redundant positions that were laid off. And it was mostly blizzard employees laid off specifically.
Also
/no please don’t attack this innocent multi trillion dollar company
Ookami38@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
I don’t think he was defending the company, more saying that OF COURSE they’re going to do big layoffs, it only makes sense, and so if you (the courts) don’t stop them, then well… You don’t blame a lion for hunting a gazelle, it’s just what they do.
blazeknave@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Eli5 please… in lieu of US trust busting, couldn’t literally any government entity like the EU, where msft etc Al do business, have stopped this acquisition? How did this happen in the first place?
EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 months ago
As far as I understand the circumstances, because Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard are both US companies, they ultimately fall under US regulation except for any of their offices/holdings in other countries, where they have to abide by the local laws. The reason the FTC is upset now is that Microsoft had said that Activision-Blizzard was largely going to be its own independent company under the Microsoft brand, so these layoffs go against those promises - especially with the wording about removing “overlap” between the companies, which points to them firing people at Activision-Blizzard who had the same job as people already working at Microsoft. The only reason that they’d do that is if they’re not actually letting Activision-Blizzard run on their own and are going to be merging the company into Microsoft more than they had said they would.
I do remember something about the UK signing off on the merger, so I assume that there are some countries that did their own “due diligence” and approved the acquisition, but a majority of these layoffs are in California by the sounds of it, so all any of them could really do at this point is hold Microsoft liable if they don’t follow local labor laws about severances and the like. I assume that they felt the same way as the FTC, in that the promise of Activision-Blizzard running on their own meant that there was little concern about monopolizing the industry.
barsoap@lemm.ee 9 months ago
Any country that a company wants to do business in ultimately has a say on things like mergers. But every country of course has specific things that it cares about and US employees are not on the EU’s list, it’s all about the software market.
RedAggroBest@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I really don’t get this argument regardless of which way things “should be”.
Even and independent Activision-Blizzard under Microsoft would have overlap with HR or something. I can’t imagine leaving them “independent” wasn’t going to entail some trimming of fat.
NegativeLookBehind@kbin.social 9 months ago
I’m sure they’ll do something about it
Lol I’m sorry I’m totally joking
OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 9 months ago
They’re filing an appeal to undo the merger. What more do you want?
cosmic_slate@dmv.social 9 months ago
[deleted]NegativeLookBehind@kbin.social 9 months ago
You’re right, I should have done that, my bad.
Spaghetti_Hitchens@kbin.social 9 months ago
Title is weirdly worded. FTC is happy with Microsoft, just not too happy.
cali_ash@lemmy.wtf 9 months ago
Ah good house cleaning at Activision Blizzard was long overdue …
LifeOfChance@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I’m guessing because they haven’t been paid their share of the profits and savings. FTC only cares about themselves nothing more.
FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 9 months ago
lol, ok
ClopClopMcFuckwad@lemmy.world 9 months ago
They’re not too happy, and they may even write a strongly worded email expressing their unhappiness.
OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 9 months ago
You jest, but the FTC is trying to appeal (undo) the merger in court, and this makes their case a lot stronger: reuters.com/…/us-ftc-tries-again-stop-microsofts-…
For a 68,000,000,000$ deal, even if this helps the FTC by 1%, that’s a huge risk
Neato@ttrpg.network 9 months ago
Good. After they un-merge them they can break them up into even smaller pieces. That way in another 30 years when we forget about antitrust against they can re-assemble the monopoly. Fun for everyone!
Orbituary@lemmy.world 9 months ago
You took all that effort to put the zeros and commas in, but put the $ on the wrong side of the number.
Neat.
CaptainEffort@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
If they actually managed to, my faith in humanity would be restored a little bit
sbv@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
WOAH WOAH WOAH LET’S KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE HERE
EdibleFriend@lemmy.world 9 months ago
They didn’t even slam them.
0110010001100010@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Or even give them a good BLAST.
FunkyMonk@kbin.social 9 months ago
you cant just blindside job creators with that, think of the neppies