An investor group that holds shares in Activision Blizzard is calling the company's response to the DFEH lawsuit "inadequate" and has penned a letter telling leadership that it needs to do more to quell the crisis.
SOC Investment Group, formerly CtW Investment Group, has criticized Activision Blizzard in the past. Back in June, SOC spearheaded a challenge to Activision Blizzard CEO's say-on-pay proposal, essentially calling the 50% pay cut from earlier this summer a publicity stunt as Mr. Kotick remains one of the most overpaid CEOs in gaming.
Now, SOC is challenging Activision Blizzard's response to the stories of abuse that continue to surface following California's Department Of Fair Employment And Housing lawsuit over an alleged unsafe work environment, unfair hiring practices, and discrimination based on gender and race.
"The changes Mr. Kotick has announced do not go nearly far enough to address the deep, widespread issues with equity, inclusion, and human capital management at the company," wrote SOC executive director Dieter Waizenegger in a letter first reported by Axios.
The letter notes that Activision Blizzard has yet to make any changes to the way the company fills vacancies on its board of directors or senior management and no changes have been made to executive pay or any moves made to claw back pay from executives that "engaged or enabled abusive practices."
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Further, SOC blasted Activision Blizzard for hiring Wilmer Hale, a law firm notoriously known for union-busting. "This firm has a sterling reputation as a defender of the wealthy and connected," Waizenegger added, "but it has no track record of uncovering wrongdoing, the lead investigator does not have in-depth experience investigating workplace harassment and abuse, and the scope of the investigation fails to address the full range of equity issues Mr. Kotick acknowledges."
Waizenegger later suggested that Activision Blizzard should withdraw back pay and bonuses from executives found to enable abuse, perform a company-wide "equity review" to ensure fair and equitable pay among workers, and also "increase board diversity and equity by adding a woman director – preferably one with a history of advocacy for marginalized people and communities – by the end of 2021, committing to gender-balance on the board by 2025, and reserving at least one board seat for a nominee selected by current employees as their representative."
The letter explains that Activision Blizzard's board has just one person of color and two women, and not a single person on the board has any experience as a game designer, coder, or tester. This lack of relevant work experience “has left it struggling to respond to a burgeoning crisis that all indications suggest has been building for some time."
Activision Blizzard has yet to respond to SOC's letter.
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