Summer’s almost over, and that means video game companies and major retailers are getting ready for Black Friday sales. Many stores have stopped waiting for Friday and have begun opening on Thanksgiving, and one more retailer has joined that club. According to an article from Kotaku, GameStop just recently announced that they will be open this Thanksgiving, and the news has many employees upset.
The news is particularly surprising given that in the past GameStop had made a point of not operating on Thanksgiving “out of respect” of their employees and their families. GameStop has stated that their change in policy stems from high customer and store associate demands that the stores stay open during the holiday:
To better serve our guests with their evolving holiday shopping needs, this year GameStop will open its stores for a shortened and limited time on Thanksgiving Day.
The news that GameStop stores will have shorter hours on Thanksgiving has done nothing to calm angry GameStop employees, who have grown much more accustomed to the company giving employees the holiday off. Employees have gone on to voice their complaints online, including GameStop’s official Reddit page. When asked how they felt about the news, some employees bitterly mocked GameStop executive Mike Buskey’s stance from 2015, in which he said they planned to “protect family time during this important holiday.”
Other comments ranged from ex-employees saying how grateful they are to have left the retailer to cynical comments about this being a desperate attempt from GameStop to save themselves from going out of business.
Whether or not this new move will save GameStop’s dropping profits, it’s become very clear to many employees that the retailer does not seem to have their best interests in mind.