NEWS - Friday, August 27, 2004
Acclaim Not Paying Their Staff?
The situation at struggling publisher Acclaim took a turn for the worse this morning. This morning, sources at the company told GamesIndustry.biz that staff at the UK studios in Cheltenham and Manchester have not been paid their salaries - and that while the Cheltenham studio remains open, employees in Manchester have been told to go home. Updated Further information emerging from embattled publisher Acclaim this afternoon indicates that contrary to some media reports today, no redundancies have been made at the firm, but a filing for Chapter 11 protection is expected. The publisher's studios in Manchester, UK and Austin, Texas are shut today, with employees in Austin believed to be locked out of the offices due to unpaid rent, and staff in Manchester told to go home this morning. However, a senior US source told GamesIndustry.biz this afternoon that despite reports claiming that staff at these sites have been laid off, this is not the case, and no redundancies have been made at the firm so far. Acclaim, which faces huge financial difficulties due to the end of an extension period on its credit agreement with GMAC Commercial Finance, has allegedly failed to pay staff in the UK their salaries for the month of August. According to our source, the firm hopes to recover from this difficulty - and will file for Chapter 11 protection either later today or on Monday morning, rather than declaring itself fully bankrupt as some reports have suggested. Chapter 11 protection, if granted, will allow Acclaim to continue to trade while its debts are assessed by a third party - but while this would grant the company immunity from its creditors for now, it would not help with the unpaid salary situation.Source: http://www.eurogamer.net
