Flock Offers Employees Buyouts as Customers Flee
Flock Safety offers voluntary buyouts to its roughly 1,500 employees as customer losses, privacy backlash, and camera vandalism strain the $8 billion company.
Flock Safety announced a voluntary employee separation program with applications due October 2, decisions on October 9, and most departures by October 29, targeting its roughly 1,500 workers. The surveillance company, valued above $8 billion in an April funding round after raising about $1.2 billion total, is losing customers rapidly: one advocacy group counted 93 city and county governments cutting ties in August, and 2026 losses are roughly triple those of the previous five years combined. WIRED's recent reporting documented officers allegedly using Flock cameras to track former partners, widespread agency data sharing, and extensive data collection by the devices. People familiar with the company speculate it may sell parts or all of its business to stay afloat.
- Buyout applications opened Friday; most accepted employees would leave by October 29, with extended retainment possible.
- 93 city and county governments ended Flock contracts in August; 2026 losses triple the prior five years.
- Company valued above $8 billion in April after roughly $1.2 billion in total venture funding.
- WIRED documented officer misuse to track acquaintances, broad inter-agency access, and detailed data collection by cameras.
- Flock is expanding into AI investigative software, person-search tools, and potential drone integrations.
Full article756 words · extracted from wired.com · click to collapse
Flock Safety announced a voluntary employee separation program on Friday, offering a “generous” severance package to those who want to leave amid growing backlash against the surveillance technology company, according to an internal email shared with WIRED.
Applications for Flock’s voluntary severance program opened Friday, and employees have until October 2 to decide whether to leave the company. Flock expects to grant buyouts to the majority of workers who apply, according to the email. People familiar with the program but not authorized to discuss it publicly say they believe that a significant number of the startup’s roughly 1,500 employees may try to depart.
Flock is making the severance offers as it continues to lose customers amid growing frustration across the US about its sprawling network of license plate readers, which have raised concerns about privacy and misuse. In the last month, WIRED has documented officers allegedly abusing Flock to track former romantic partners and colleagues, exposed how widely some agencies share access to the system, shown how little is known about the manufacturing of the devices, and revealed in new detail how much information Flock’s cameras collect based on data from a dismantled Flock device.
| Got a Tip? |
|---|
| Are you a current or former Flock employee who wants to talk about what’s happening? We’d like to hear from you. Using a nonwork phone or computer, contact the reporters securely on Signal at peard33.24 & dmehro.89 |
Founded in 2017, Flock raised money at a valuation of more than $8 billion in a funding round that closed in April. The company has had many of its contracts either not extended or dropped this year, which could leave it short of revenue goals, according to two of the people. A wave of vandalism targeting its cameras has unexpectedly increased expenses. Without buyouts, Flock almost certainly would have to lay off some staff, one of the people believes.
In an internal announcement, Flock said the separation program provides “greater agency” for its workers and “treats employees with transparency, respect, and choice.” It also described the package as the “most generous” ever offered by the company, roughly double its previous severance offers.
Flock did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Some Flock employees have said they have received buyout offers in the range of tens of thousands of dollars, one of the people said. The package also gives employees several months of health care coverage and the ability to exercise stock options within two years after separation, a longer period than the company typically offers resigning employees, according to the email and the people familiar with the offer.
Flock employees are expected to learn whether their applications were accepted on October 9, according to the email. Most accepted employees would leave the company by October 29, though in some cases Flock may ask employees to remain for another one to three months.
People familiar with Flock’s severance plan tell 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.”
One advocacy group identified 93 city and county governments that cut ties with Flock in August alone. Overall in 2026, roughly three times as many local governments have dropped Flock compared to the previous five years.
Flock has recently been building products that extend the company beyond its core license plate reader offering. WIRED reported last month that the company has developed AI powered investigative software to identify drivers, find potential associates based on patterns of movement, and search across police records and other data.
A separate WIRED analysis of Flock’s software found tools designed to continuously search camera feeds for people matching written descriptions. WIRED’s analysis of Flock’s code also found potential integrations with drones and other surveillance systems.