Rockstar Games Faces Allegations of Union-Busting in Ongoing Legal Case
- Rockstar Games is involved in a trial where 31 former employees claim they were unlawfully dismissed for union-busting activities.
- HR manager Charlie Kinloch testified he had “little interest” in evidence sent by an anonymous employee regarding union efforts prior to terminations.
- The court proceedings will continue next week as both sides prepare for further cross-examinations.
During a trial at Glasgow Tribunals Centre, a witness in the case of Rockstar Games vs Garland & Others indicated he had “little interest” in evidence concerning unionization efforts that were sent by an anonymous employee before significant layoffs of union Discord members occurred. This comes as 31 former employees of Rockstar, developers of Grand Theft Auto 6 and represented by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), assert they were targeted and unlawfully dismissed amid alleged union-busting practices.
Charlie Kinloch, HR manager and co-studio operations director at Rockstar Lincoln, faced cross-examination from representatives of the dismissed employees. He was accused of misleading the employment court regarding statements made during an interim relief hearing earlier this year. Initially, Kinloch stated he was unaware that employees were members of the IWGB; however, he later revised this to say he had no way of knowing “definitively” which employees were part of the union.
The claimants argue that discrepancies in Kinloch’s testimony reflect attempts to mislead the court. The cross-examiner also referenced messages sent to him by the anonymous employee, labeled as AB, which were presented as evidence of gross misconduct. The claimants contend that these messages contained information about workplace discussions on union organization, distribution of leaflets, and complaints.
Kinloch maintained that the messages did not pinpoint specific IWGB members and stated that while he held a broad interest in unionization matters that affected management, he prioritized addressing “disparagement and misinformation about Rockstar” above union conversations.
Questions arose regarding the delay in addressing what Kinloch deemed ‘disparaging’ comments, which were first reported to him in early 2024 but did not lead to immediate terminations until about 18 months later. Kinloch attributed this delay to the scrutiny Rockstar Games was under leading to the release of GTA 6, claiming it was “unprecedented.”
He argued that heightened media speculation and public interest at the time could potentially harm the company if any disparaging remarks became public. Kinloch emphasized that the user growth within the employee Discord group was increasing alongside these negative comments.
Two notable concerns for Kinloch were discussions among Discord members about launching a Rockstar Games union Twitter account—considered a security risk—and intentions to converse with prominent game journalists, including Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier and The Guardian’s Keza Macdonald.
Rockstar maintains that the 34 layoffs were due to an “irretrievable breakdown in trust and confidence” within the company. Today marked the initial phase of cross-examinations involving Rockstar witnesses, with the process set to continue next week as former employees prepare to further argue their case against the gaming giant and the IWGB union.
News Courtesy of Eurogamer
