The current EA sale to Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund may now soon come under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as asked by over 40 members of the US Congress. In a recent letter, the leaders of the Labor Caucus plus over three dozen lawmakers of the United States have stated that there are serious concerns regarding the much talked-about EA bid that’s currently underway and according to said letter, it’s easy to see why.
“We are committed to preserving fair, competitive labor markets and safeguarding American jobs, and given the impact of this acquisition on workers, labor market concentration, and the long-term competitiveness of the U.S. video game industry, we urge you to thoroughly review this transaction,” reads the above mentioned letter.
“Workers in the video game industry are already navigating an environment marked by instability, shrinking opportunities, and repeated rounds of layoffs. EA is one of the largest employers of video game workers in the United States, and evidence suggests the company already wields significant wage-setting power.”
It’s also stated that the current EA deal can result in lots of potential layoffs and even closures of multiple studios which could pose serious threats to many developers and workers in the industry.
“These actions would not only jeopardize thousands of high-skilled American jobs, but also further concentrate already fragile labor
markets for software engineers, artists, writers, testers, and other professionals whose skills are essential to the industry.”
The U.S Congressmen are currently asking the FTC to “conduct a thorough investigation into the labor market consequences of this proposed acquisition, including EA’s existing wage-setting power, the likelihood of post-transaction layoffs, the degree of labor-market concentration in relevant geographic and occupational markets, and the role of cross-ownership in shaping labor outcomes.”
Huge megacorporations have a history of putting profit over people in many occasions and from that perspective, the current EA deal needs to come under scrutiny for a lot of reasons.
