The Federal Trade Commission complained to a federal appeals court on Wednesday that Microsoft’s layoff of 1,900 employees in its video games division went against its representations in court as it fought to acquire Activision Blizzard. The move undermines Microsoft’s claims that the companies would continue to operate independently, the FTC said, and will make it harder to get “effective relief” if the agency succeeds in its administrative proceeding.
  • Th4tGuyII@kbin.social
    1491·
    9 months ago

    Do you know what you do when someone doesn’t hold up their end of a bargain? You don’t uphold your’s…

    If the FTC forces them to unmerge, it’d make others think twice about lying to the FTC, and give the agency much stronger fangs to bite back with in the future.

      • Aniki 🌱🌿@lemm.eeEnglish
        342·
        9 months ago

        I’ll legit eat a shoe if anything actually happens. Those jobs are gone and those people were just tossed aside like a used candy wrapper.

        • ohlaph@lemmy.worldEnglish
          12·
          9 months ago

          I wish a company wouldn’t be allowed to do any layoffs or mass firings for a period of three years post merge and require 1 year severance after that, to all employees at that company, not just those affected by the merge.

      • vexikron@lemmy.zipEnglish
        14·
        9 months ago

        Basically not unless /another/ anti-trust lawsuit is brought against them, and also somehow Teddy Roosevelt time warps into exactly Biden’s location, explodes him Dr. Manhattan style inside out, immediately asks for a fitting suit, signature glasses, and this somehow stuns everyone into just letting him be President for the rest of Biden’s term.

    • echo64@lemmy.worldEnglish
      17·
      9 months ago

      From what I understand, it doesn’t work that way. Which is why they are appealing to the 9th circuit court. They’ve been doing this with little success for half a year or so and it’s unlikely they’ll succeed this time either.

    • Gork@lemm.eeEnglish
      91·
      9 months ago

      Can the FTC force an unmerge? I hope they aren’t toothless like a lot of the other captured regulatory agencies.

      • huginn@feddit.itEnglish
        15·
        9 months ago

        The FTC can’t afaik but the justice department can and has forced companies to split up.

  • kibiz0r@midwest.socialEnglish
    641·
    9 months ago

    FTC for the past 60 years: “You lied to us? Great job, kid!”

    FTC under Lina Khan: “You lied to us? We’ll see your ass in court.”

    We might not win, but golly it’s refreshing to see someone try.

    • paultimate14@lemmy.worldEnglish
      392·
      9 months ago

      Seperate Activision from Blizzard while you’re at it.

      Peel Zenimax off and break it further apart.

      All these mergers… I’ve yet to see a single one end up with positive outcomes for the consumer, the employee, or really anyone other than the shareholders.

        • DoucheBagMcSwag@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          4·
          9 months ago

          Oooh Got me there. You’re right. Microsoft has been below mid for exclusives for years, backwards compatibility has been the only edge on Sony.

          GameStop leaked in a now taken down tweet that the Microsoft event has named Xbox game pass as Microsoft Game Pass.

          Not good

  • CrypticCoffee@lemmy.mlEnglish
    143·
    9 months ago

    Maybe just prevent MS merging or buying anything ever again until they fix shit. Ultimately, if their assurances aren’t worth shit, any case they put forward cannot be believed, and to the contrary, will likely be unreliable.

    If you can, force them to split in certain areas.

  • PatFusty@lemm.eeEnglish
    92·
    9 months ago

    What did Microsoft ‘promise’ for this merger? Also, is breaking that ‘promise’ even breaking any merger rules?

    • ohlaph@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      9 months ago

      They pinky promised, so it means more. And hurts more when they break the promise.