EA Games

Evidentally, EA Games is a behemoth in the video gaming industry. They also treat their employees like crap. See this story from an EA software engineers spouse and this one from an actual software engineer.

While long hours immediately prior to release are understood in the game industry are the norm, working people to death prior to that is unusual and unhealthy. Plus EA is requiring employees to work long hours without compensation, which has provoked employees into suing their employer for compensation.

There are several ways this could end:

• More lawsuits. Employees start experiencing health difficulties from the long hours and stress. They sue the company for damages. Employees, like Joe Straitiff above, start suing over false termination and take the company for a mint.
• EAs workers start leaving en masse. EA will miss deadlines and likely experience a business meltdown.
• EA workers will unionize and demand that EA change its practices.
• EAs management will wisen the hell up and start managing their people better proactively.

The end result in any case is that EA can't hope to keep this sort of thing up for long.

I doubt EA management reads this blog, but if you do... get a clue.

Hat tip to Penny Arcade.