More than 100 Blizzard employees have accepted money in exchange for leaving

Over 100 customer support staff at a Blizzard office in Cork, Ireland have accepted contract buyouts in order to leave the company, Eurogamer has reported.

Sources from inside the company who have requested to remain anonymous reportedly told Eurogamer that “over 100 people” have voluntarily accepted money in exchange for leaving the company at the end of December.

The anonymous sources said that the staff had taken part in a voluntary program that offers staff money to leave Blizzard. The sources say that the program has been offered to staff “at least five times” and that the amount of money has increased with each offer.

One source who accepted the offer told Eurogamer that “It was too good to pass up. This is voluntary, do not get me wrong. But when you see a pile a cash [sic] in front of you, over and over again, you start to lose hope and cannot see a great situation ahead.”

Workers leaving include agents, managers, and back office staff. This has reportedly put a “significant strain” on the remaining customer service workers, who are worried about how the sheer number of people leaving will affect the company.

Another source told Eurogamer that “This means people will struggle to get the help they need and the people that are left in the office are being forced on to shifts they do not like to try and cover this massive loss.”

In a statement to Eurogamer, Blizzard said that the level of customer service offered to European players will not be affected.

Source: Eurogamer.