Flock Safety plans to let go of about 18% of its employees as the maker of AI-powered surveillance cameras and license-plate readers faces mounting opposition to its products from communities and lawmakers, Reuters reported on October 8, citing people with direct knowledge of the plans.
The job cuts would affect roughly 270 employees at Flock, a startup that has seen rapid growth in recent years. The people said the cuts came after a voluntary buyout program, and that affected employees are expected to leave the company at the end of the month The sources declined to be identified because the company has yet to make the plan public.
Flock declined to comment on the report.
In September, Flock announced a voluntary separation program, asking employees to apply if they wanted to leave the company, Wired reported last month. The company has about 1,500 employees in total.

A network under scrutiny

Across 49 states, Flock's network of around 120,000 AI-powered cameras, affixed to streets and highways, automatically reads license plates and records vehicles as they pass, according to Reuters.
The Atlanta-based company, founded in 2017, provides cameras and software to more than 4,800 law enforcement agencies and nearly 1,000 businesses. The company says its technology helps investigate and solve crimes, but it has come under increasing scrutiny over alleged privacy violations and data-sharing practices.
A federal judge in Oklahoma ruled on October 1 that a Tulsa County deputy's use of Flock's nationwide camera network to track a vehicle for a month without a warrant amounted to “indiscriminate mass surveillance,” suppressing the resulting evidence. A bill to restrict Flock-style data sharing has also been introduced in Congress.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Americans are divided on whether Flock cameras are a good idea. Some 38% of the country supports the use of Flock cameras in their community, compared with 47% who oppose their use.

Investors still backing the company

Despite the backlash, Flock has continued to draw strong investor interest among venture capitalists. The company has raised over $950 million from venture capital investors, with its latest $275 million round in March led by Andreessen Horowitz valuing the company at $7.5 billion.
The funds have supported a new U.S. manufacturing facility and an upcoming push into drone products, according to the company.
Flock's situation illustrates a growing tension in the surveillance technology market: investors remain willing to back companies selling AI-powered monitoring tools, even as regulators, lawmakers and privacy advocates intensify their scrutiny of how those tools are deployed.
By Hamza Faisal