Surveillance firm Flock offers employees voluntary buyout packages
Flock Safety, facing sustained backlash over its license plate recognition technology, is offering staff generous voluntary severance packages, with the company saying it would likely otherwise need to make layoffs.
License plate recognition company Flock Safety announced on Friday what it called its "most generous" severance package yet, aimed at employees willing to leave voluntarily, according to a report from Wired.
The company, which employs roughly 1,500 people, reportedly expects a significant share of its workforce to express interest in the buyouts and plans to grant them to most of those who apply. An internal announcement described the offer as the most generous the company has ever made.
Backlash over misuse of the technology
By allowing staff to leave on their own terms, Flock can part ways with employees who have grown demoralized by ongoing public criticism of its surveillance tools. Wired reports that without the buyout program, the company would "almost certainly" have needed to lay off some employees.
In August, The Washington Post reported 46 cases in which police officers were accused of misusing Flock's technology, including allegations that some used it to stalk wives, girlfriends, or former partners. Florida and Texas have both said they will stop using the startup's technology, and an anti-surveillance advocacy group counted 90 cities that dropped Flock in August alone — a fourfold jump from the previous month.
Flock CEO Garrett Langley recently told the All-In podcast that the backlash's biggest toll has been on internal morale. TechCrunch said it has reached out to Flock for comment.
