Flock Safety offers buyouts to 1,500 staff as customers drop contracts

September 19, 2026 at 07:22 AM2 min

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Flock Safety announced a voluntary employee separation program on Friday, offering severance to workers who want to leave. Applications opened Friday and close October 2, with most accepted employees departing by October 29. The buyouts come as the surveillance technology company loses customers and faces rising costs from vandalism.

Key Facts

Flock Safety announced the voluntary separation program on Friday, with applications due by October 2.
The company expects to grant buyouts to the majority of workers who apply, and most accepted employees would leave by October 29.
Flock has roughly 1,500 employees and was valued at more than $8 billion in an April funding round.
The severance package is described as the most generous ever offered by Flock, roughly double its previous offers, and includes several months of health care coverage and a two-year window to exercise stock options.
Flock has lost customers and had many contracts not extended or dropped this year, while vandalism targeting its cameras has increased expenses.

Buyout Program Details

Flock Safety announced a voluntary employee separation program on Friday, offering a generous severance package to those who want to leave. Applications opened Friday, and employees have until October 2 to decide whether to leave the company. Flock expects to grant buyouts to the majority of workers who apply, according to an internal email shared with WIRED. Employees are expected to learn whether their applications were accepted on October 9, and most accepted employees would leave by October 29. In some cases, Flock may ask employees to remain for another one to three months.

Severance Package Terms

Flock described the package as the most generous ever offered by the company, roughly double its previous severance offers. Some Flock employees have received buyout offers in the range of tens of thousands of dollars, according to one person familiar with the offer. The package also gives employees several months of health care coverage and the ability to exercise stock options within two years after separation. That two-year exercise window is longer than the period Flock typically offers resigning employees.

Customer Losses and Financial Pressure

Flock is making the severance offers as it continues to lose customers amid growing frustration across the US about its network of license plate readers. In the last month, WIRED has documented officers allegedly abusing Flock to track former romantic partners and colleagues, and exposed how widely some agencies share access to the system. Flock has had many of its contracts either not extended or dropped this year, which could leave it short of revenue goals, according to two people familiar with the matter. A wave of vandalism targeting its cameras has unexpectedly increased expenses. Without buyouts, Flock almost certainly would have to lay off some staff, one of the people believes.