Rockstar Layoffs face increased pushback as GB Independent Workers’ Union responds to GTA publisher

Hannah Marie ZT, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 15/12/2025

Following 30+ employee Rockstar Layoffs on October 31st, the GTA publisher has received criticism and concern from the games community for alleged union-busting. 

After Kier Starmer commented on the situation in the UK parliament, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain has also weighed in with new commentary on Rockstar’s layoff justifications.

“We are confident that what we’ve seen here is plain and simple union busting,” says IWGB President’s initial statement

The IWGB’s initial response to the Rockstar Layoffs was released on November 12th. In this response, they confirmed that legal claims had been issued against Rockstar for “unfairly dismissing staff for union activity and blacklisting its members.” 

In colloquial terms, this legal claim concerns the concept of “union busting.” 

“Union busting” is where a company makes calculated or predetermined tactics to attempt to prevent workers from joining or forming unions and successfully utilising the influence of said unions.

The IWGB Legal Team’s statement on November 12th alleges that the employees affected by the Rockstar layoffs were placed in circumstances that “amount to victimisation and collective dismissal linked to trade union activity.”

IWGB President Alex Marshall reiterated and supported this statement, claiming, “We are confident that what we’ve seen here is plain and simple union busting.”

This issuance of legal claims followed Rockstar’s refusal to meet with the IWGB.

According to Rockstar, the employees were released from their positions due to having “distributed and discussed confidential information in a public forum.” 

Although the GTA 6 developers have rebuked any notion of “union busting,” public opinion has divided mainly between expressing dislike for the broader leak culture in gaming and supporting the IWGB’s conclusions. 

UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer weighs in on Rockstar Layoffs in Parliament

Rockstar’s latest response to union-busting concerns came when the GTA 6 developers responded to Keir Starmer’s concerns expressed in the UK Parliament. 

Starmer’s comments were prompted by alleged former employee testimony stating that those involved in the Rockstar layoffs were “refused their right to Union representation” in the associated disciplinary meeting. 

If true, this act would be a breach of UK Employment Law.

The MP of Edinburgh raised his concerns regarding union busting during Prime Minister’s Question Time on December 10th after having had meetings with Rockstar that “failed to reassure” him. Other politicians have also commented on or questioned the incident in Parliament.

In response, Starmer commented that it was “A deeply concerning case.” 

IWGB claims GTA publisher is spreading “Falsehoods and disinformation” regarding their public responses after the Rockstar Layoffs 

Rockstar’s claims that the layoffs were triggered by individuals having “distributed and discussed confidential information in a public forum” have been dismissed by the IWGB.

Speaking through GameSpot, the IWGB stated that “Rockstar’s latest statement is littered with falsehoods and disinformation.” 

From the perspective of the IWGB, “they have given multiple, conflicting reasons to explain why the workers were fired, as if attempting to reverse engineer a rationale for the dismissals.”

Furthermore, the IWGB directly addressed the information leak justification, stating, “Once again, they have chosen to mischaracterise workers speaking about their working conditions in a private forum as ‘leaking information.’”

The alleged “leaked information” appears to have come from Discord. As a platform, Discord hosts both private and public forum servers. 

IWGB’s claims that the “leaked information” actually consisted of individuals “speaking about their work conditions” could significantly alter the perception of the employees’ dismissal, if found accurate. 

The incident has also been theorised as a contributing factor to GTA 6’s further delays, which could now impact other AAA titles. 

Hannah Marie ZT, Senior Editor

Hannah is a journalist specialising in the esports, gaming, and technology sectors. Working for outlets such as Dot Esports, Esports Insider, and of course ENUK, she has developed a love for wider esports, Apex Legends, and advocating for women's esports initiatives. You may have seen her at various esports and gaming events, including ALGS LANs, ESI London, EGX, and watch parties.

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