Bandai Namco, a leading game developer headquartered in Tokyo, has been accused of adopting the traditional Japanese strategy of reducing its workforce by sending employees to so-called “hub rooms.” export” (oidashi beya), where they are not given jobs.
This allegation comes after a number of high-profile game projects were canceled, including titles related to the franchises. One Piece and Naruto sources familiar with the matter have revealed.
Since April, Bandai Namco Studios Inc., a subsidiary of the company, has moved about 200 of its 1,300 employees into these deportation rooms, Bloomberg reported.
In these rooms, employees have no work-related duties, often pressuring them to voluntarily leave the company.
Nearly 100 workers have quit since the move, with more expected to leave in the coming months, according to anonymous sources who spoke to Bloomberg.
This approach is not uncommon in Japan, where labor laws are very strict. Coupled with the social norms followed in the country, it makes it difficult for companies to lay off employees altogether.
Previously, employees whose roles were redundant but could not be laid off would be considered part of the ‘madogiwazoku’, or “window tribe”.
These workers are often placed by the window with no real work, where they spend their time reading newspapers or doing other menial tasks.
However, as the Japanese economy slowly deteriorated and with the challenges of global competition arising, many companies were left with more redundant staff than they could accommodate.
This gave rise to'oidashi beya', also known as the banishment or banishment room. Unlike the relatively benign'madogiwazoku', employees sent to the expulsion room are often placed in windowless rooms and have little or no work to do.
Odashi beya is a particularly harsh method, especially in Japan's collectivist culture, where ostracism from the group is a severe form of punishment.
Despite the increasing number of resignations, Bandai Namco has denied that they are using these expulsion rooms to force employees to leave the group.
In a statement, the company explained: “Our decision to discontinue the game was based on a comprehensive assessment of the situation. Some employees may need to wait a certain amount of time before being assigned to the next project, but we will continue to assign them as new projects come up. There is no organization like the 'oidashi beya' at Bandai Namco Studios designed to pressure people to voluntarily leave.”
The situation at Bandai Namco arose after the company canceled or paused several major game projects.
In addition to shelving related games One Piece and Narutothe company also canceled the mobile game Tales of the Rays > and will stop online games Blue Protocol in January 2025.
The company has faced significant financial pressure due to a decline in consumer time spent gaming following the pandemic, resulting in a writedown of ¥21 billion ($141 million) in the last three quarters of 2023.
Bandai Namco's actions are part of a broader trend in the games industry, as other companies have also been forced to cut their spending. ratings.
Square Enix recently canceled several money-losing smartphone games, while Sony also shut down online gaming Concord just two weeks after its release.
Source: Bloomberg, Intercultural Japan