Thursday, October 28, 2021

Activision Blizzard's Kotick: Zero Tolerance, $250M For Diversity

Santa Monica-based Activision Blizzard is on the defensive after facing a number of lawsuits and investigations of the company for discrimination and sexual harassment, saying in a letter to employees released by the company to the public that it will have zero tolerance for harassment reported to the firm. The company also said it plans to invest $250M to accelerate opportunities for diverse talent, with the goal of increasing the percentage of women and non-binary people in its workforce by 50 percent. The company said currently 23 percent of its global employee population fits those categories. Kotick also asked for a pay cut, to $62,500 and no compensation or bonuses on top of his basic salary until the company's board has "achieved the transformational gender-related goals and other commitments". The move comes as the company has faced investigations from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision, both of which have been looking into workplace and gender pay gap and gender-based harassment reports.

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