Don't Nod faces possible layoffs and insolvency, union says

Don't Nod, the studio behind the original Life is Strange games and Lost Records: Bloom and Rage, is in danger of insolvency and layoffs, according to an October 27 statement from employees who are members of the French game workers union Le Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV).

The union says Don't Nod is under a "safeguard procedure" meant to protect it from insolvency, since it can't pay off its debts. As reported by Rock Paper Shotgun, STJV says the studio announced this "to financial press before the employees, as has been its MO."

According to the statement, management presented staff with "several financial scenarios" for the near future. All of them "included redundancies," and the worst case forecast the "liquidation of the company through 2026."

The scale described is severe. The statement says "nearly all of the non-managerial jobs" would be cut, reportedly including all animators, character artists, concept artists and associate producers, along with most environmental artists, sound designers, level designers, programmers, QA testers and HR staff. Half of the studio's game designers would also go, per the statement.

The union also accuses management of practices it calls "illegal," saying they've caused staff "uncertainty and anxiety."

"Management is extremely clearly going for heavily individualized targeting and hasn't been shy about their intent to keep selected people in rather than jobs, which is illegal," the union wrote.

The statement further claims management is betting on outsourcing to take on work. Don't Nod hasn't publicly responded to the union's accusations.