Flock reportedly tries to shrink workforce with employee buyouts

Embattled surveillance technology company Flock Safety unveiled a “generous” severance package for voluntary employee departures on Friday,according to a report in Wired. Flock reportedly expects a significant portion of its 1,500-person workforce to express interest in the buyouts, and said it will grant them to a majority of those who are interested. The company’s internal announcement described these packages as the “most generous” it has ever offered. By letting employees depart voluntarily, Flock can say goodbye to team members demoralized by the ongoing backlash over the company’s license plate recognition technology. Wired also reports that without buyouts, the company would “almost certainly” need to lay off some staff. In August,The Washington Post identified 46 caseswhere police officers have been accused of misusing Flock technology, including cases where they allegedly stalked their wives, girlfriends, or exes.Florida and Texas both said they will stop using the startup’s technology, and an anti-surveillance advocacy groupidentified 90 cities that dropped Flock in August alone— a fourfold increase from the previous month. TechCrunch has reached out to Flock for comment. The startup’s CEO Garrett Langleyrecently told the All-In podcastthat the “biggest damage” caused by the backlash has been to “internal morale.”