Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard CEO, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss how his company transitioned to working from home, what he's done to assist their comfort and the spike in activity the company is seeing as more people turn to video games during quarantine.
The uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic can take its toll on employees. For the 10,000 or so who work at Activision Blizzard around the world, one person they can call is CEO Bobby Kotick.
“About a month ago, we sent out an email from my email address with my phone number and we encouraged every single employee that has a concern that relates to their health care to just contact me directly,” Kotick told CNBC’s Becky Quick on “Squawk Box.”
Kotick said “a few hundred” employees have reached out to him since that email. “But we’re fortunate. Very few actually tested positive so far for Covid-19.”
He also complimented the work of Activision Blizzard’s human resources department as the maker of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft responded to the global outbreak.
“The team has been working 24/7 since we started work from home in our offices in China and our offices in Europe to really make sure that they were available for the benefit of the employees and their families,” he said.
Kotick, who has been CEO since 1991, said the Santa Monica, California-based company has taken additional steps to fortify health-care options for employees during the pandemic. “In countries where there are national health-care programs, we also have private doctors helping to assist and navigate through what can be a very complex process getting into national health care.”
Activision Blizzard also partnered with organizations for additional mental-health care and for licensed child care, said Kotick, noting the company has made investments to support research on treatments for Covid-19.
“We’ve always been a pioneer in these kinds of benefits, but some of the things we’re doing now, like supporting these clinical trials at important health institutions, these are things that are unprecedented for us as a company,” he said.
“But we’re definitely feeling from our employees that the extra investment, the extra attention, is appreciated,” Kotick added.
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