Surveillance Firm Flock Offers Staff Buyouts Amid Customer Exodus
License plate reader maker Flock Safety is offering employees a voluntary severance program as backlash over its surveillance technology grows and local governments increasingly cut ties with the company.
Flock Safety, maker of license plate reader cameras and other surveillance technology, announced a voluntary employee separation program on Friday, offering a generous severance package to workers who choose to leave, according to an internal email obtained by Wired.
Applications opened Friday, with employees given until October 2 to decide. Flock expects to approve buyouts for most applicants. People familiar with the matter believe a significant share of the company's roughly 1,500 employees may seek to depart.
Losing contracts, rising costs
The offer comes as Flock continues losing customers amid growing frustration in the US over its extensive network of license plate readers, which has raised privacy and misuse concerns. Many of the company's government contracts have not been renewed or have been dropped this year, potentially leaving it short of revenue targets. At the same time, a wave of vandalism targeting its cameras has driven up expenses.
Founded in 2017, Flock was valued at more than $8 billion in a funding round that closed in April and has raised about $1.2 billion in venture capital overall. Without the buyout program, the company would almost certainly have had to conduct layoffs, according to people familiar with the plan.
Flock described the package internally as its most generous ever, roughly double what it has previously offered. Some employees have reportedly received offers in the tens of thousands of dollars, along with several months of health coverage and an extended two-year window to exercise stock options after leaving.
Employees will learn whether their applications were accepted on October 9, with most departures expected by October 29. Some people familiar with the situation say the company could eventually sell off parts or all of its business to stay afloat.
One advocacy group found that 93 city and county governments cut ties with Flock in August alone, and roughly three times as many local governments have dropped the company in 2026 compared with the previous five years combined. Flock did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
