Reuters: Flock Safety to cut about 270 jobs, or 18% of staff, amid privacy backlash

Flock Safety plans to cut about 18% of its workforce, roughly 270 employees, Reuters reported on October 8, citing people with direct knowledge of the plans.

A voluntary program. According to Reuters, the cuts follow a voluntary buyout program Flock announced in September, and affected employees will leave at the end of October. The company has about 1,500 employees. Flock declined to comment to Reuters. A spokesperson told The Hill that Flock had offered staff a "generous Voluntary Separation Program" to position the company "for its next phase of growth" and said it was not a layoff. Flock declined to confirm the percentages.

A growing backlash. Flock's network of around 120,000 AI-powered cameras across 49 states reads license plates and records passing vehicles. It sells cameras and software to more than 4,800 law enforcement agencies and nearly 1,000 businesses. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 38% of Americans support Flock cameras in their community and 47% oppose them. In September, Florida banned automated license plate readers from state highways, citing privacy risks tied to Flock's cameras.

Investor and legal pressure. Home Depot investors have demanded reviews of the retailer's partnerships with surveillance vendors after reports that Flock's data was used in immigration enforcement, and a Virginia lawsuit alleges the cameras amount to warrantless surveillance. Flock, founded in 2017 and based in Atlanta, has raised more than $950 million; its latest $275 million round in March, led by Andreessen Horowitz, valued it at $7.5 billion.