According to reports, 75 staff reductions are planned for the King Studio Office in Barcelona as part of its 200-person lay-offs this summer. The Barcelona studio staff will meet outside the office on 31 July to protest this reduction, some of whom believe that they were replaced by the AI tools they created and constructed.
The protest was organized by the Spanish workers ‘ trade union SCVI. A statement by the network of officials of the organization states: “The staff of King Barcelona will gather outside the company’s headquarters to protest the announced lay-offs by management. It is expected to affect up to 12 per cent of the workforce at a time when King is recording tens of millions of dollars in profits and, in the words of Phil Spencer (President of Xbox), `the number of players and the length of the game are at an all-time high’.”
According to the union, the proposed reduction was due to the “setting of profit expectations that cannot be achieved and the desire to replace some employees with artificial intelligence tools”. The statement added that some staff were also considering moving out of the King Barcelona office.
CSVI indicated on social platform X that the protest would take place on the morning of 31 July at 150 Granada Street, Barcelona. “We support the employees who are facing this unfair process, the sole purpose of which is to increase the profits of the company, which is already worth tens of millions of dollars”, the trade unions say.
CSVI added that some 75 layoffs were made this summer after 47 layoffs in King Barcelona in September and October 2024. Since King was acquired by Microsoft, staff cuts have not stopped.
The trade unions also suggested that King had failed to honour his agreement on severance payments, negotiated during the last round of layoffs in 2024: “These events indicate a malicious act on the part of the company, which we cannot accept,” the statement added.
There were reports earlier this month that some 200 (and perhaps more) staff members would be dismissed this summer, according to King sources. Many of the laid-off staff will be replaced in substance by the AI tools that they build and train themselves, and the Farm Heroes Saga team, based in London, is being “cut half” and about 50 people will leave.
One employee also claimed that the Department of Human Resources was targeting those who had spoken out against their grievances internally. A recent internal survey showed that staff morale was at an all-time low. According to another source, morale is now “down to the bottom”.
