Electronic Arts (EA) workers, in collaboration with the video game union United Videogame Workers-CWA Local 9433, have released a public statement criticizing the Saudi Arabia-led buyout of the company and calling for regulatory scrutiny. The statement—crafted in part by the CWA and EA employees who have joined the industry-wide union UVW-CWA—argues that the deal jeopardizes workers at the company, who have already endured two years of layoffs and studio closures.
EA has informed workers that “no immediate layoffs” will take place upon the completion of the buyout. However, these assurances come from a company that previously stated it was primed for “accelerated growth” after cutting hundreds of jobs.
“EA is not a struggling company,” the unnamed workers said in their statement. “EA’s success has been entirely driven by tens of thousands of EA workers whose creativity, skill, and innovation made EA worth buying in the first place. Yet we, the very people who will be jeopardized as a result of this deal, were not represented at all when this buyout was negotiated or discussed.”
The statement outlines concerns that studios deemed “less profitable,” but whose work defines EA’s reputation, could be at risk. Citing reporting from Game Developer’s Nicole Carpenter, the workers questioned how the $20 billion in debt secured for the transaction by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners—the firm owned by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former President Donald Trump—will be paid off.
“If jobs are lost or studios are closed due to this deal, that would be a choice, not a necessity, made to pad investors’ pockets—not to strengthen the company,” they emphasized.
Jared Kushner’s Role Raises Regulatory Concerns
The workers’ statement coincides with a letter sent a day earlier by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal to Treasury Secretary and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) Chair Scott Bessent, as well as EA CEO Andrew Wilson. The senators expressed concern over potential “foreign influence” arising from the deal. They warned such influence could include “surveillance of Americans, covert Saudi propaganda, and selective retaliation and censorship of persons disfavored by the Saudi government.”
The senators urged Bessent and other regulators to conduct a “thorough investigation” of the transaction. Echoing this call, EA workers and the CWA appealed to elected officials and regulators to ensure any path forward protects jobs, preserves creative freedom, and keeps decision-making accountable to the workers who make EA successful.
However, the union also cautioned that regulators and elected officials “won’t save” the video game industry. This remark highlights concerns regarding Kushner’s close relationship with Bessent. According to The Wall Street Journal, Kushner advised Bessent during ongoing trade negotiations with China.
Workers Call for Collective Action
The union argued that game developers—especially those at EA—will be the only ones capable of saving the industry.
“Organizing is the only thing that guarantees workers a real voice when ownership changes hands, and it’s the only way to ensure that the people who make video games have a say in how they’re run,” they wrote. “The value of video games is in their workers. As a unified voice, we, the members of the industry-wide video game workers’ union UVW-CWA, are standing together and refusing to let corporate greed decide the future of our industry.”
Game Developer has reached out to EA for comment and will update this story when a response is issued.