Following last week’s cancellations and delays, Ubisoft looks to cut 200 jobs from its Paris HQ

"Ubisoft International has initiated discussions regarding a potential Rupture Conventionnelle Collective."

Following last week’s announcement of a new strategy that also included the cancellation of six games and delays to seven more, Ubisoft is now looking to cut 200 international, contracted employees from its Paris headquarters.

“In line with last week’s announcements on its new operating model and the acceleration of cost-reduction initiatives, Ubisoft International has initiated discussions regarding a potential Rupture Conventionnelle Collective, a collective, voluntary mutual termination agreement that could involve up to 200 positions at its headquarters in France,” an Ubisoft spokesperson told IGN.

“At this stage, this remains a proposal, and no decision will be final until a collective agreement is reached with employee representatives and validated by French authorities,” the representative continued, also confirming that, “the proposal applies exclusively to Ubisoft International employees under French contracts and has no impact on other French entities or Ubisoft teams worldwide.”

The Rupture Conventionnelle Collective is a French system in which a company can terminate employment contacts on a voluntary basis without needing to resort to layoffs. It is bound by a set number of “planned departures and associated job cuts,” according to a translated page from France’s Ministry of Labor and Solidarity (thanks, PC Gamer).

PC Gamer also points out that Ubisoft attempted something similar with Ubisoft Massive back in October of last year. In that instance, the publisher proposed a “voluntary career transition program” that was not taken up by employees. Instead, Ubisoft then laid off approximately 55 employees at Massive and Ubisoft Stockholm earlier this month.