The Bloomberg article includes a crucial detail omitted from the PC Gamer summary (emphasis mine):
Such oidashi beya, or “expulsion rooms,” are sometimes used by Japanese corporations in a country with some of the world’s strictest labor-protection laws. Employees are typically given no work-related tasks, but are left with the knowledge that their performance will give managers ammunition to cut severance when they do leave. Many employees use their time in such rooms to look for other jobs.
So it’s not just about inducing them to quit, but also that if they stay their performance reviews will drop (since they’re not actually doing any measurable work) and and affect their severance, meaning it’s not as simple as just getting a cushy-if-mind-numbing assignment and enduring the boredom through sheer willpower.
Another interesting tidbit from the Bloomberg piece:
An anonymous website launched last month alleges that Bandai Namco is using various methods to persuade people to leave. The company is aware of the website, but the information is not accurate, a representative said, declining to elaborate.
Wonder if there’s anything interesting in there (it’s all in Japanese, of course)
A rough summary of 3 of the Bandai Namco articles from the leak website in no particular order:
Many employees took the job because they wanted remote work and the company forced them in-person without a transition period recently. The employees then self-surveyed with the question “are you willing to come to a compromise on remote work” and the bosses ignored it without any response.
Bandai pushed out all temporary and part-time employees. Those workers can sue, but it’s unlikely they can do much against the company with all its resources.
Bandai is searching for the whistleblowers who reported these things via interviews and searches of employee PCs. If they have even the slightest discrepancy in their computer logs, it’s used as an excuse to say "I have engaged in problematic behavior in the past, so I will not be able to do anything in the future.‘’ Employees say this means there is no future for you if you stay at the company.
When Bandai finds out an employee is leaving for another job, negative reviews are spread about them with messages like “you should have nothing to do with this person,” to prevent them from getting jobs elsewhere. (Seems to contradict them wanting to purge employees, but idk Japanese labor law and maybe it has to do with severance. Maybe cruelty is the point?)
The articles also confirm the “waiting room” strategy. Employees are being transferred between departments and not given work to force them to leave. Apparently the company is not developing new, distinct IP fast enough and this is part of why they want to cut employees. Shutdown of Blue Protocol also started waves of this behavior.
Link to article:
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/200-bandai-namco-employees-reportedly-moved-into-expulsion-rooms-designed-to-bore-them-into-quitting-though-the-company-maintains-its-innocence/
which is really just a summary of this Bloomberg article:
https://archive.is/20241017125641/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-15/bandai-namco-begins-to-cut-headcount-after-culling-game-titles
The Bloomberg article includes a crucial detail omitted from the PC Gamer summary (emphasis mine):
So it’s not just about inducing them to quit, but also that if they stay their performance reviews will drop (since they’re not actually doing any measurable work) and and affect their severance, meaning it’s not as simple as just getting a cushy-if-mind-numbing assignment and enduring the boredom through sheer willpower.
Another interesting tidbit from the Bloomberg piece:
Wonder if there’s anything interesting in there (it’s all in Japanese, of course)
A rough summary of 3 of the Bandai Namco articles from the leak website in no particular order:
Many employees took the job because they wanted remote work and the company forced them in-person without a transition period recently. The employees then self-surveyed with the question “are you willing to come to a compromise on remote work” and the bosses ignored it without any response.
Bandai pushed out all temporary and part-time employees. Those workers can sue, but it’s unlikely they can do much against the company with all its resources.
Bandai is searching for the whistleblowers who reported these things via interviews and searches of employee PCs. If they have even the slightest discrepancy in their computer logs, it’s used as an excuse to say "I have engaged in problematic behavior in the past, so I will not be able to do anything in the future.‘’ Employees say this means there is no future for you if you stay at the company.
When Bandai finds out an employee is leaving for another job, negative reviews are spread about them with messages like “you should have nothing to do with this person,” to prevent them from getting jobs elsewhere. (Seems to contradict them wanting to purge employees, but idk Japanese labor law and maybe it has to do with severance. Maybe cruelty is the point?)
The articles also confirm the “waiting room” strategy. Employees are being transferred between departments and not given work to force them to leave. Apparently the company is not developing new, distinct IP fast enough and this is part of why they want to cut employees. Shutdown of Blue Protocol also started waves of this behavior.
Articles are from late September to this Monday.