Rockstar Games Denies Union Busting in Employment Tribunal
Rockstar Games executives testified in a Glasgow tribunal that 34 employees were fired for leaking confidential data, not for trade union activities.
Executives from Rockstar Games testified at an employment tribunal in Glasgow that the October 2025 dismissal of 34 employees in the United Kingdom and Canada was due to gross misconduct, not trade union activity. The company maintains that staff shared confidential information on a private Discord server, creating a massive vulnerability during a crisis mode period caused by development delays for Grand Theft Auto VI.
Robert Spampinato, vice president for human resources, denied allegations that the company monitored union membership or sought to suppress the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB). While Spampinato admitted that an anonymous employee helped management track collective grievances, he called claims of revenge dismissals preposterous. Jennifer Kolbe, head of licensing and the final decision-maker for the firings, characterized the internal informants who reported the Discord activity as whistleblowers.
Twenty-three former employees, supported by the IWGB, are challenging the dismissals. Their lawyers allege that the company used the leak of confidential information as a pretext for union busting, specifically targeting activists as the union approached a membership threshold for formal recognition. The proceedings before judge Lucy Wiseman are ongoing.
