Flock Safety Offers Voluntary Severance as Backlash Against Surveillance Technology Grows

Introducing Flock Safety The company launched a voluntary employee separation program on Friday, offering “generous” severance packages to workers who want to leave amid growing backlash against surveillance technology companies, according to an internal email shared with WIRED.

Flock employees have until October 2 to apply

Applications for Flock’s voluntary severance program will open Friday, and employees will have until October 2 to decide whether to resign. Flock plans to award buyouts to most workers who apply, according to the email. People familiar with the program who were not authorized to discuss it publicly said they believe a significant number of the startup’s roughly 1,500 employees may seek to leave.

The company is offering severance packages as it continues to lose customers amid growing frustration over its sprawling network of license plate readers, along with concerns about privacy and abuse.

Last month, WIRED documented officers suspected of exploiting Flock systems to track former romantic partners and colleagues. The publication also reported on how some agencies share access to the system, how little is known about the devices’ manufacturing, and how much information Flock cameras collect, based on data from dismantled devices.

Customer losses and camera vandalism add pressure

Founded in 2017, Flock’s valuation surpassed $8 billion in a funding round that closed in April, according to a Fortune report. Two people familiar with the matter said the company may not meet its revenue targets this year because numerous contracts have not been renewed or have been terminated.

A series of acts of vandalism targeting the company’s cameras has also created unexpected expenses. Without a deal, Flock would almost certainly have to lay off some employees, one of the people said.

In an internal announcement, Flock said the separation program would give employees “greater agency” and treat them with “transparency, respect and choice.” The announcement described the package as the “most generous” the company had ever offered—approximately double the previous severance package.

Flock did not respond to requests for comment.

Severance includes extended health coverage and stock options

Some Flock employees have received buyout offers worth tens of thousands of dollars, one person said. The package also provides several months of health insurance and gives departing employees two years to exercise their stock options, longer than the company typically allows, according to emails and people familiar with the proposal.

According to the email, Flock employees will learn whether their applications have been accepted on October 9. Most accepted employees will leave by October 29, although Flock may ask some workers to remain for an additional one to three months.

Employees question Flock’s future

Some employees may accept the offer, people familiar with employees’ plans to leave Flock told WIRED. The company, which has raised about $1.2 billion in venture capital, may resort to selling part or all of its operations to stay afloat, according to speculation cited by those people.

“We know the writing is on the wall,” one person said, adding that something has to change after seeing “enough vandalism” targeting Flock’s cameras this year.

Flock CEO Garrett Langley said on All-In last month that the “biggest damage” caused by the backlash against the company was “morale within the company.”

“Why are people so angry at us when we’ve been doing the same thing for nine years, whether you go to X or keep going to Reddit?” Langley said. “And why are they so angry about something we’re not doing? And we just want people to be safe.”