Quality assurance workers at a gaming studio owned by Microsoft Corp. vote to unionize. An analysts’ note forecasts more gig workers for work services platforms in the case of a recession. Layoffs happening at Salesforce and ByteDance.

ZeniMax union

Quality assurance workers at Microsoft Corp.’s ZeniMax Studios gaming business voted to unionize, according to an announcement by the Communications Workers of America union.

It said ZeniMax is the first studio at Microsoft to secure union representation and the largest group of union-represented quality assurance testers at any US game studio. ZeniMax’s games include Elder Scrolls, Doom, Quake Champions and Fallout. It has operations in Maryland and Texas.

The workers are employed directly by ZeniMax and not through staffing firms, a union representative told Staffing Industry Analysts.

Microsoft agreed to remain neutral in the vote and the tech giant swiftly recognized the union, according to the CWA.

“Microsoft has lived up to its commitment to its workers and let them decide for themselves whether they want a union,” CWS President Chris Shelton said. “Other video game and tech giants have made a conscious choice to attack, undermine and demoralize their own employees when they join together to form a union. Microsoft is charting a different course which will strengthen its corporate culture and ability to serve its customers and should serve as a model for the industry and as a blueprint for regulators.”

Recession and gig workers

Work service platforms such as Uber and Lyft could see an increased availability of gig workers if a recession hits, according to a note by Bank of America Securities analysts that was reported on by MarketWatch.

The analysts noted there is a potential of 450,000 new drivers for Uber and Lyft as well as possibly 600,000 new couriers for DoorDash.

Salesforce and ByteDance layoffs

Salesforce Inc. on Wednesday announced plans to cut 10% of its workforce and close some offices, CNBC reported. The cloud-based software company expects to incur charges of between $1.4 billion to $2.1 billion. Affected workers in the US will receive at least five months’ salary, health insurance and other benefits, while those outside the country will receive a “similar level of support,” according to CNBC.

Separately, ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, laid off hundreds of employees, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported. Citing anonymous sources, the newspaper reported the move affected employees at Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, as well as the company’s gaming and real estate operations. The cuts amount to only a small percentage of ByteDance’s workforce of more than 100,000 employees worldwide.