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Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has revealed he is taking a pay cut and forgoing all bonuses until the Call of Duty publisher has achieved “transformational gender-related goals”.
The information came in a letter to employees from the CEO that was released publically on Activision’s investor website (opens in new tab) on October 28. In a statement at the bottom, Kotick says: “I have asked our Board of Directors to reduce my total compensation until the Board has determined that we have achieved the transformational gender-related goals and other commitments described above. Specifically, I have asked the Board to reduce my pay to the lowest amount California law will allow for people earning a salary, which this year is $62,500.”
Kotick also confirmed that this would be his total salary for the year and that he would not be taking any bonuses during this period.
The letter also detailed multiple steps Activision is going to be taking in response to the Activision Blizzard lawsuit that was launched earlier this year. These include a new zero-tolerance harassment policy, increasing the percentage of women and non-binary employees by 50% and investing $250million “over the next 10 years in initiatives that foster expanded opportunities in gaming and technology for under-represented communities”, and “waiving required arbitration of sexual harassment and discrimination claims” both now and in the future.
Kotick’s letter comes after months of fallout from the original lawsuit launched by California’s Department of Fair Housing and Employment, which alleged a “frat boy” culture at the company alongside evidence of discrimination against female employees.
This lead to the SEC launching an investigation into the company as well, with the EEOC recently settling with Activision Blizzard.
