Waltham, Massachusetts-based Lionbridge Technologies, a provider of translations and localization services to electronics manufacturers, is responding to an April 18, 2024, mass layoff of 160 Boise, Idaho employees assigned to providing quality assurance services to Activision, the Microsoft subsidiary that develops, publishes, and distributes video games.
According to published reports, employees were told that their project had ended, though other teams appeared to be working on the same project in Mexico and Poland.
The layoffs are not without controversy...
Yesterday, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Lionbridge Technologies, Inc., a Microsoft supplier. The charges allege that the company laid off the entirety of a 160-person team in Boise, Idaho, in retaliation for workers engaging in protected organizing activities and protected speech when raising issues regarding their working conditions. This team provided quality assurance services to Microsoft subsidiary Activision.
In addition to the layoff, Lionbridge offered workers a severance package that required them to agree to overly broad confidentiality terms and to waive rights protected under the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRB has ruled this practice unlawful. Workers were told that the reason for their termination was that the project had ended. However, other teams working on the same project in Mexico and Poland continue to work.
Lionbridge has a documented union-busting track record. In 2016, it laid off all the members of a union in Bellevue, Wash., shortly after workers finalized a first collectively bargained contract with the company. That unit also provided subcontracted labor to Microsoft.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?
