Team17

In October 2023, Team17 laid off ~50 employees (11% of 438 workforce) from QA, usability, programming, and marketing, just two weeks after reporting 31% revenue growth to £70M and gross profit of £30.2M. Staff had been told after March 2023 layoffs that there would be no further cuts. Reports indicated up to one-third of the workforce could eventually be affected. CEO Michael Pattison also departed during the restructuring.

In 2022, Team17 QA staff reported base pay of £16,000/year (below UK minimum wage), with senior testers earning £19,000 (barely above). Employees reported being unable to 'afford to heat their homes, have 3 meals a day or replace clothes with holes' while CEO Debbie Bestwick made ~$10.24 million and had £200M personal fortune. Women who received 'suggestive and degrading messages and photos from male colleagues' were told by HR to 'handle the issue themselves' or saw perpetrators get 'a slap on the wrist.' One female employee said she feared being 'gaslit' by HR.

In January 2022, Team17 announced MetaWorms NFT project without informing most employees, including the social media team who faced public harassment. Partner studios Aggro Crab, Playtonic, and SMG condemned the project - Aggro Crab called NFTs 'an overall fucking grift' and vowed not to work with Team17 again. The project was cancelled within 24 hours. An internal FAQ warned employees that 'criticising or embarrassing Team17' publicly 'could be cause for disciplinary action.' Staff who opposed NFTs internally were ignored by management.