About 300 Boston Dynamics employees signed a petition asking company leadership to cancel a $1.3 million contract supplying four Spot robot dogs to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE. The petition, sent to executives in early September, was obtained and reported by WBUR and The Boston Globe. A company spokesperson confirmed it and said nearly half of the signatures were anonymous.
The contract does not run directly through Boston Dynamics. The robots reach ICE through Radeco, a Connecticut company that customizes them. The deal, settled in September, covers four robot dogs and additional Spot technology. Radeco's modified version, called Cerberus, carries a robotic arm, a thermal camera and sensors for explosive materials. According to the contract documents, ICE wants them to provide real-time situational awareness in hazardous, confined or tactically uncertain environments before agents are sent in. The records also say the robots will investigate tunnels at the southwest border and that each unit costs about $326,000 fully equipped.
In the petition, employees wrote that the sale harms the company's image and «presents us as working directly with ICE». The text adds: «We cannot be proud of working at BD when that work is being used by a government agency that brutalizes civilians, including some of our own colleagues». Employees warned the deal could push staff to quit or deter potential hires.
Leadership is going ahead. Amanda McMaster, the company's former interim chief executive, said the company stands by the decision. Boston Dynamics argues the robots are destined for ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit, which focuses mainly on transnational criminal matters rather than removal operations. Its sales terms explicitly prohibit weaponizing the robot or using it to harm or intimidate. The spokesperson said the signers represent a minority of the workforce.
The case differs from the broader debate over the company's anti-weaponization pledges. Because the contract runs through a third-party integrator that adds military-grade hardware, enforcing the company's own use restrictions becomes harder. The Department of Homeland Security's plan to buy the robots was first reported in late August; until then, opposition had come mainly from advocacy groups.
No comments yet. Be the first!