(Reuters) – Activision Blizzard Inc said on Thursday nearly 1,100 U.S.-based temporary and contingent quality assurance workers of some divisions will be converted to full-time employees, starting July 1.
The “Call of Duty” maker, which is being acquired by Microsoft Corp for $68.7 billion, said it will raise the minimum hourly wages for these employees – from the Activision Publishing and Blizzard divisions – to $20 or more and also offer them access to full company benefits.
This change will increase Activision Publishing division’s total full-time staff by 25%.
“This change follows a process that began last year across AP and Blizzard of converting temporary and contingent employees, including 500 at AP’s studios, to permanent full-time employees,” said an Activision Blizzard spokesperson.
The company has been the subject of investigative stories detailing allegations of sexual harassment internally, and its employees have staged walkouts to protest against its response to the issues. Last year July, California regulators filed a lawsuit, alleging Activision “fostered a sexist culture.”
(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
