Flock Safety has introduced a voluntary severance program as the surveillance technology company looks to reduce its workforce, according to a Friday report in Wired. The company, which makes license plate recognition technology, described the packages internally as the most generous it has ever offered and said it expects interest from a significant share of its 1,500 employees. Flock reportedly plans to approve buyouts for most of those who apply rather than turning away volunteers.
The buyout path would allow Flock to reduce its headcount without moving directly to involuntary cuts, and Wired reported that the company would almost certainly have to lay off at least some staff if enough employees do not leave on their own. It also gives the company a way to part with workers whose morale Wired describes as damaged by the continuing backlash against its license plate recognition technology. Flock Chief Executive Garrett Langley recently said on the All-In podcast that the biggest damage from that backlash has been to internal morale.
That backlash has drawn scrutiny to how police departments use Flock's technology. In August, The Washington Post identified 46 cases in which police officers have been accused of misusing Flock technology, including allegations that officers stalked their wives, girlfriends, or exes. The cases raise questions about oversight of license plate recognition tools sold to law enforcement agencies across the United States.
Government agencies have begun to step back from the company's products as well. Florida and Texas both said they will stop using the startup's technology, moves that affect agencies in two of the country's largest states. Meanwhile, an anti-surveillance advocacy group identified 90 cities that dropped Flock in August alone, a fourfold increase from the previous month, according to the report.
TechCrunch has reached out to Flock for comment, the report said, and no response was included in the article. The company's planned buyouts, if enough employees accept them, would mark a notable contraction for a firm of 1,500 people. The developments come as scrutiny of license plate recognition technology and its use by police continues in the United States.
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