Dublin-based Keywords Studios has laid off its Dragon Age: Dreadwolf QA team contracted to assist BioWare Edmonton in Canada.
As reported by Polygon, the recently unionised team were let go in late September after BioWare decided not to continue its contract in August.
Last year, the QA workers joined the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union, making the group the first game industry union in Canada.
The UCFW filed an employment standards complaint against Keywords Studios this week, reporting that it offered “minimal severance.”
This follows the news that former BioWare employees are suing for better severance after 50 employees were dismissed due to the “studio’s changing needs.”
“Workers at Keywords Studios have spent a year trying to bargain a fair first collective agreement before the shocking news that BioWare had cancelled the contract with Keywords Studios Edmonton subsequently laying off unionised staff,” a UFCW spokesperson said.
The UCFW is also launching a new campaign where activists and members of the public can send a letter to the CEOs of Keywords Studios, BioWare, and parent company EA “calling for fairness for their unionised staff.”
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