In anticipation of upcoming layoffs, Test Drive Unlimited developer, Eden Games has decided to go on strike. The Atari-owned studio sent a letter to Gamasutra calling the work stoppage a “symbolic day strike” and a protest to “mismanagement” by Atari. According to the letter, the French-based developer will have 51 of its 80 positions eliminated in June, which is the earliest allowable date under French law.
The letter goes on to state, "For several years we are witnessing multiple leader changes at its head, they did not hesitate to get rich despite financial difficulties. Each time the recovery project was beautiful and promising, and ended in a failure. We are skeptical about the proposed project."
According to Eden, Atari has been unwilling to enter into negotiations and the purpose of the strike is to “show the employees determination and mobilization.” They also wish for better communication, stating that current Atari president and CEO, Jim Wilson, “has never introduced himself to his employees.”
Eden does not believe Atari is playing fair, stating that “Atari does not play the game of negotiations with employee representatives on the redundancy plan measures.” The developer also believes that its employees are not receiving commensurate compensation during the layoff process compared to other Atari employees. Eden also said it wanted access to unspecified financial records that it claims Atari is withholding from them, which could pertain to Test Drive Unlimited 2 sales figures.
[SOURCE]
