Video Game Union Slams EA's Saudi-Led Buyout

Electronic Arts workers mounted a fierce challenge to the company's proposed Saudi Arabia-led buyout, warning the deal would concentrate power among "a few gatekeepers" while jeopardizing thousands of jobs across the gaming industry.

In a blistering public statement, the United Videogame Workers-CWA accused EA management of negotiating the $55 billion transaction without any input from employees who built the company into one of gaming's most valuable properties.

"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 union said, speaking on behalf of EA workers who have joined the industry-wide labor organization.

The statement takes direct aim at the deal's financing structure and its backers, including Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and Affinity Partners, the private equity firm owned by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law. Workers expressed alarm that EA would need to service nearly $20 billion in debt to complete the transaction.

"Who will be spared, which corners will executives cut, and what studios will be sacrificed in order for that to happen?" the union asked, citing industry reporting on the debt burden.

The workers emphasized EA's financial strength, noting the Redwood City, Calif.-based publisher generates $7.5 billion in annual revenue and $1 billion in yearly profit, undermining any suggestion that the company needs new ownership to survive.

"EA is not a struggling company," the statement read. "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."

Gaming Industry Faces 40,000 Job Losses as Private Equity Expands Control

The union's opposition comes against a backdrop of severe industry contraction. EA itself has conducted multiple rounds of workforce reductions, totaling over 1,900 in the past two years.

Workers expressed particular concern for studios producing critically acclaimed but commercially modest titles, fearing these operations could be deemed "less profitable" and face closure under new ownership focused on debt repayment.

"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," the union stated.

The statement also raised broader concerns about private equity's growing influence in the gaming sector, arguing that when investors take companies private, "workers lose visibility, transparency, and power."

"Decisions that shape our jobs, our art, and our futures are made behind closed doors by executives who have never written a line of code, built worlds, or supported live services," workers said.

The union called on regulators and elected officials to scrutinize the transaction, demanding that any approved deal must "protect jobs, preserve creative freedom, and keep decision-making accountable to the workers who make EA successful."

However, the statement acknowledged that regulatory intervention alone would not address systemic issues facing game industry workers.

"Only we can truly do that," the union said. "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."

The Federal Trade Commission and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States are currently reviewing the proposed acquisition, which would rank among the largest deals in entertainment industry history. The transaction would significantly expand Saudi Arabia's footprint in global gaming, adding to the kingdom's existing stakes in Nintendo, Activision Blizzard, and Take-Two Interactive.

The workers concluded their statement with a declaration of solidarity: "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."

The deal, if completed, is expected to close in the second quarter, pending regulatory approval.