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Voluntary Exit of Over 100 Blizzard EU Customer Service Agents Sparks Concerns - MMORPG.com News

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  • Solar_ProphetSolar_Prophet Member EpicPosts: 1,960
    A year's severance to jump off a sinking ship? Yeah, I'd take that. Still sucks to lose a job around the holidays, but to their credit Blizzard did it right.
    Lokero

    AN' DERE AIN'T NO SUCH FING AS ENUFF DAKKA, YA GROT! Enuff'z more than ya got an' less than too much an' there ain't no such fing as too much dakka. Say dere is, and me Squiggoff'z eatin' tonight!

    We are born of the blood. Made men by the blood. Undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open. FEAR THE OLD BLOOD. 

    #IStandWithVic

  • kitaradkitarad Member LegendaryPosts: 8,178
    One year severance is beyond decent of them.
    Thupli

  • MensurMensur Member EpicPosts: 1,531
    Blizzard did nothing right here... This is forced by the law in Ireland. Blizzard should not get any credit for this. Its common practices within the employment law in Ireland.
    [Deleted User]TacticalZombehlaseritConstantineMerus

    mmorpg junkie since 1999



  • lahnmirlahnmir Member LegendaryPosts: 5,054
    Would you kindly....

    /Cheers,
    Lahnmir
    'the only way he could nail it any better is if he used a cross.'

    Kyleran on yours sincerely 


    'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'

    Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...



    'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless. 

    It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.

    It is just huge resource waste....'

    Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer

  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 44,063
    edited December 2018
    Mensur said:
    Blizzard did nothing right here... This is forced by the law in Ireland. Blizzard should not get any credit for this. Its common practices within the employment law in Ireland.
    Tá sé go huile is go hiomlán bréagac 
    (It is completely false)

    My guess is most of the 100 were employees with few years of service or earned more than 600 € per week, which is the cap for involuntary redundancy.

    Excerpt(s) of Irish voluntary severance payment calculations. One key difference is salaries are not capped to 600 €.

    While the law requires two weeks severance for each year worked in a redundancy separation, five weeks is more the norm so a 10 year employee could qualify for almost a year's pay in let go involuntarily 

    Also, "Unlike redundancy payments, voluntary severance payments are not tax-free payments and are subject"

    https://www.redundancy.ie/employee/voluntarysevere.html

    I can see why a lot of US based companies might not be willing to set up shop there.

    "Voluntary severance payments are calculated using the same age bands as statutory redundancy pay in order to determine the number of weeks' pay. A locally-agreed multiplier of 1.75 is then applied. Unlike SRP, voluntary severance pay is based on the actual amount of a week's basic pay (i.e. it is not capped).

    https://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/personnel/end/red/redproc/volsev

    Contrasted against redundancy separations: (note  the law requires only two weeks per year, not sure why courts are involved which "recommend" five instead.) 

    "In the public sector, the standard redundancy package, which is repeatedly recommended by the labour court, is for five weeks' pay inclusive of statutory entitlement (i.e. three weeks' pay plus the statutory entitlement of two weeks' pay)."

    The last line here is very important but as I mentioned does not apply to voluntary separations.

    "Employees made redundant are entitled to two weeks’ gross pay for each year of service, plus one week's wages. The payment calculation is subject to a ceiling of €600 per week. Statutory redundancy payments are exempt from tax."

    https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/emcc/erm/legislation/ireland-severance-payredundancy-compensation

    MensurConstantineMerus

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • btdtbtdt Member RarePosts: 523
    edited December 2018
    You decrease customer service when the need for said customer service decreases.  It's no secret that Blizzard is hemorrhaging subs like it has never hemorrhaged before.  So it makes sense that they'd downsize their customer service.  

    The assumption here is that it's moving to some third world country where the pay is literally non-existent.  That suggest that the need for customer service hasn't changed, just that they want to reduce the cost for maintaining it.

    So if you are hemorrhaging subs, do you maintain the same number of customer service at an entirely new location because it is cheaper or do you eliminate the unnecessary staff instead?

    The first step is to reduce the work force... the Hail Mary is to move the work to a third world country.  We're only at step one... step two will come later.
  • MensurMensur Member EpicPosts: 1,531

    Kyleran said:


    Mensur said:

    Blizzard did nothing right here... This is forced by the law in Ireland. Blizzard should not get any credit for this. Its common practices within the employment law in Ireland.

    Tá sé go huile is go hiomlán bréagac 
    (It is completely false)

    My guess is most of the 100 were employees with few years of service or earned more than 600 € per week, which is the cap for involuntary redundancy.

    Excerpt(s) of Irish voluntary severance payment calculations. One key difference is salaries are not capped to 600 €.

    While the law requires two weeks severance for each year worked in a redundancy separation, five weeks is more the norm so a 10 year employee could qualify for almost a year's pay in let go involuntarily 

    Also, "Unlike redundancy payments, voluntary severance payments are not tax-free payments and are subject"

    https://www.redundancy.ie/employee/voluntarysevere.html

    I can see why a lot of US based companies might not be willing to set up shop there.

    "Voluntary severance payments are calculated using the same age bands as statutory redundancy pay in order to determine the number of weeks' pay. A locally-agreed multiplier of 1.75 is then applied. Unlike SRP, voluntary severance pay is based on the actual amount of a week's basic pay (i.e. it is not capped).

    https://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/personnel/end/red/redproc/volsev

    Contrasted against redundancy separations: (note  the law requires only two weeks per year, not sure why courts are involved which "recommend" five instead.) 

    "In the public sector, the standard redundancy package, which is repeatedly recommended by the labour court, is for five weeks' pay inclusive of statutory entitlement (i.e. three weeks' pay plus the statutory entitlement of two weeks' pay)."

    The last line here is very important but as I mentioned does not apply to voluntary separations.

    "Employees made redundant are entitled to two weeks’ gross pay for each year of service, plus one week's wages. The payment calculation is subject to a ceiling of €600 per week. Statutory redundancy payments are exempt from tax."

    https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/emcc/erm/legislation/ireland-severance-payredundancy-compensation




    *takes a piece of humble pie*
    ConstantineMerus

    mmorpg junkie since 1999



  • laseritlaserit Member LegendaryPosts: 7,591
    Anyone know if Blizzard's customer service employees in Ireland are Unionized?

    "Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee

  • ThaneThane Member EpicPosts: 3,534

    Heretique said:

    Unfortunately Blizzard as we knew it has died. Just seeing the modular assimilation from Activision.

    Guess nothing lasts forever.



    well, on the other hand that is NOTHING new tho, not at all.

    you guys just found out about it tho as it seems... yep, so FOR YOU this whole idea is completely new... and so it has to be, ait? bc you possibly coulnd't have ignored facts for the last 10 years?

    "I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"

  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 44,063
    Mensur said:

    Kyleran said:


    Mensur said:

    Blizzard did nothing right here... This is forced by the law in Ireland. Blizzard should not get any credit for this. Its common practices within the employment law in Ireland.

    Tá sé go huile is go hiomlán bréagac 
    (It is completely false)

    My guess is most of the 100 were employees with few years of service or earned more than 600 € per week, which is the cap for involuntary redundancy.

    Excerpt(s) of Irish voluntary severance payment calculations. One key difference is salaries are not capped to 600 €.

    While the law requires two weeks severance for each year worked in a redundancy separation, five weeks is more the norm so a 10 year employee could qualify for almost a year's pay in let go involuntarily 

    Also, "Unlike redundancy payments, voluntary severance payments are not tax-free payments and are subject"

    https://www.redundancy.ie/employee/voluntarysevere.html

    I can see why a lot of US based companies might not be willing to set up shop there.

    "Voluntary severance payments are calculated using the same age bands as statutory redundancy pay in order to determine the number of weeks' pay. A locally-agreed multiplier of 1.75 is then applied. Unlike SRP, voluntary severance pay is based on the actual amount of a week's basic pay (i.e. it is not capped).

    https://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/personnel/end/red/redproc/volsev

    Contrasted against redundancy separations: (note  the law requires only two weeks per year, not sure why courts are involved which "recommend" five instead.) 

    "In the public sector, the standard redundancy package, which is repeatedly recommended by the labour court, is for five weeks' pay inclusive of statutory entitlement (i.e. three weeks' pay plus the statutory entitlement of two weeks' pay)."

    The last line here is very important but as I mentioned does not apply to voluntary separations.

    "Employees made redundant are entitled to two weeks’ gross pay for each year of service, plus one week's wages. The payment calculation is subject to a ceiling of €600 per week. Statutory redundancy payments are exempt from tax."

    https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/emcc/erm/legislation/ireland-severance-payredundancy-compensation




    *takes a piece of humble pie*
    In all fairness,  they get a much better deal by law than we do most anywhere in the States besides some like California.
    Mensur

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • berlightberlight Member UncommonPosts: 345
    "DO YOU GUYS NOT HAVE PHONES?"

    "On 19/12 our callback and live chat services will be closed from 17:00, please open a ticket request if assistance is required."

    Beta tester maniac

  • MadFrenchieMadFrenchie Member LegendaryPosts: 8,505
    Good way to treat your employees. They could have just told them that they wont be needing them to come to work on Monday and given them a minimum amount of money required by the local legislation (which I assume would be lower than a 1 year salary).

    The fact that they do not select the employees to be laid off, hence not considering performance and accepting that they may lose the better performing employees may raise questions around the future of the CSC. On the other hand, I have never managed a CSC and maybe there is a high turnover anyway, so that this factor is of a lesser importance.
    In my experience, most customer-facing offices have high turnover, whether their primary duty is customer service or otherwise.

    However, not all the turn over came from voluntary resignation.  Just as many were fired.

    image
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