Flock Safety to cut about 270 jobs as backlash to its AI cameras grows
Flock Safety, the Atlanta maker of AI-powered license plate readers, plans to lay off roughly 18 percent of its staff — about 270 people — sources say, as states, cities and retailers pull back from its surveillance cameras.
The employees are expected to leave the company at the end of October, the people said. The cuts follow a voluntary separation program that Flock announced in September, in which employees were asked to apply if they wanted to leave, and it is not clear how many of those departing are doing so voluntarily under that program. Flock has about 1,500 employees. The sources declined to be identified because the plan has not been made public. Flock declined to comment.
Flock was founded in 2017 and has raised more than $950 million from venture capital investors, including a $275 million round in March led by Andreessen Horowitz that valued the company at $7.5 billion. The company has said the funds support a new US manufacturing facility and an upcoming push into drone products. It supplies cameras and software to more than 4,800 law enforcement agencies and nearly 1,000 businesses, and operates a network of roughly 120,000 AI-powered cameras affixed to streets and highways in 49 states that automatically read license plates and record vehicles as they pass.
The layoffs come as public and political resistance to the technology spreads. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found Americans divided on whether Flock cameras are a good idea, with about 38 percent supporting their use in their community and 47 percent opposing it.
In September, Florida banned automated license plate readers from state highways, citing privacy risks tied to Flock's cameras. Engadget reported that Governor Ron DeSantis said, "I don't want to have this become a surveillance state." The Engadget report also said Texas cut the company off from state funding, that Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he would welcome legislation banning the cameras, and that the Los Angeles Police Department declined to renew its Flock contract. Engadget described the opposition as unusually bipartisan, noting that commentators across the political spectrum have criticized the company and that some people have dismantled or stolen Flock cameras in videos circulated on social media.
Corporate partners are also under pressure. Home Depot investors recently demanded reviews of the retailer's partnerships with surveillance technology vendors after reports that Flock's data was used in immigration enforcement. Flock additionally faces a privacy lawsuit in Virginia alleging that the widespread deployment of its AI-powered cameras amounts to warrantless surveillance.
Along with AI data centers, Flock's cameras have become a flashpoint ahead of November's midterm elections, with candidates increasingly attacking opponents by tying them to the technology.
Editor's Summary
Flock Safety is preparing to cut about 18 percent of its workforce, or roughly 270 jobs, at the end of October after a September buyout program, according to people familiar with the plan; the company declined to comment. The layoffs follow a year of pushback in which Florida barred the company's license plate readers from state highways, Texas ended state funding, Los Angeles police let a contract lapse and Home Depot investors sought reviews of surveillance vendor partnerships. Flock says its technology helps solve crimes, but it remains the target of a Virginia privacy lawsuit and has become an issue in November's midterm campaigns.