Flock Safety is offering employees voluntary buyouts, according to a report by WIRED, which cited internal emails sent on Friday. The surveillance company had announced a “generous” severance package for workers who want to leave, and will grant it to the majority of those who apply.
Flock stated in the email that the program “treats employees with transparency, respect, and choice,” WIRED reported, and gives employees “greater agency.” People familiar with the matter suspect the company would have to lay off some of its 1,500 employees, without the buyouts.
The report mentions some packages include months of healthcare coverage, tens of thousands of dollars, and the ability to exercise stock options within two years of leaving the company. Workers have until Oct. 2 to apply for the buyout, and they’re expected to learn whether they’re accepted by Oct. 9. Those who have accepted the buyout are expected to depart the company by Oct. 29.
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This comes amid growing backlash to Flock’s sprawling networks of license plate readers, which have raised concerns about privacy and misuse. Previous reports by WIRED have documented d officers allegedly abusing Flock to track former romantic partners and colleagues, exposing how widely some agencies share access to the system.
Several lawmakers have taken action against Flock’s network of cameras. Last month, a U.S. Senate subcommittee launched a formal investigation into Flock Safety, demanding internal records and data management policies from the artificial intelligence surveillance firm following concerns over law enforcement misuse and false arrests.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, sent a letter on Wednesday to Flock Safety Chief Executive Officer Garrett Langley, arguing that the Atlanta-based company has built an unprecedented nationwide surveillance system without explicit congressional authorization.
There have also been multiple incidents of Flock cameras being vandalized of late. In August, three 19-year-olds were arrested after two Flock Safety cameras were allegedly cut down and destroyed in Chester County, South Carolina, according to authorities.
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People familiar with Flock’s severance plan told WIRED that some employees may take the offer amid speculation that the company, which has raised about $1.2 billion in venture capital, might resort to selling off parts or all of its business to stay afloat. When you see enough of the vandalism” targeting Flock cameras this year, ” one of the people says, “you know the writing is the wall” that something has to change.
Flock CEO Garrett Langley said on the All-In podcast last month that “the biggest damage” caused by the backlash against the company had been “internal morale.”
“Because you go on to X or you go on to Reddit and you go, why are people so mad at us when we’ve been doing the same thing for nine years?” Langley said. “And why are they so mad at us for things we don’t do? And we just want people to be safe.
According to one advocacy group, 93 city and county governments have cut ties with Flock in August alone.