March 11, 2005
EA Outsourcing Programming to China
Late last year there was a firestorm when an anonymous blogger complained about the crazy work hours of 65-80 hours a week at Electronic Arts with no overtime pay. The company has now responded that they will offer overtime wages to some workers who do not get stock options. However this isn't a mea culpa, as the EA executive complains about California labor laws and says they will move work elsewhere including China. I'm sure the labor laws in the Far East are a bit more lenient and the salaries a bit more affordable. Of course EA executives don't have to worry much about overtime pay or salaries, as they are printing money these days with million dollar stock sales.Brown suggested that California labor rules and demands from employees could push the company to move more of its work elsewhere, including a new studio it has launched in China. "There is a point where the cost of doing business in California gets so high that we have to look at these other studio locations," Brown said.
What do you think? Is this right? [Discuss]
