Chris came back from his winter break feeling energized. Ubisoft’s Halifax studio, where he worked, had recently unionized with 74 percent support, joining CWA Canada. On January 5, employees returned from vacation eager to prove that unionization would make them stronger workers. But two days later, it all came crashing down.

Jean-Michel Detoc, chief mobile officer from the company’s France office, walked through the front door, unannounced. Dread descended upon the staff. By 10 a.m., all seventy-one employees were laid off. Some started crying. Others were furious. “You lose your job like that—it sounds dramatic, but it’s a traumatic experience,” says Chris (whose name has been changed to avoid professional repercussions).

The Halifax office closure was widely seen as union busting. Employees said there was no correspondence with them or the union before the layoffs. (“All impacted employees in Halifax were informed of the closure at the same time on January 7, 2026. Ubisoft immediately contacted the union on Jan. 7 to begin discussions, including negotiations regarding additional severance,” the Ubisoft spokesperson said in the response.)