Proton Cancels Staff AI Re-Interviews That Could Have Affected Jobs

Proton has scrapped a plan to re-interview employees in order to assess how well they use AI. 404 Media reported that CEO Andy Yen announced the decision at a company-wide meeting on October 30. The move follows the publication of an email to staff indicating that the results of those interviews could affect whether employees kept their jobs.

404 Media obtained a recording of the meeting and spoke with employees. At the meeting, Yen acknowledged that the plan had been communicated badly. He said, however, that the company would continue to push ahead with its use of AI. What was canceled, in other words, was the scheduled interview process, not the broader direction of putting AI to work.

How an AI skills assessment became a job-security issue

The re-interviews had originally been set for November 4 to 11. An email to employees made public on October 26 laid out a plan to assess how employees use AI. Not everyone was included. Ahead of the plan, Yen had held interviews with more than 40 senior managers in the product and engineering organizations.

Employees were particularly concerned about how the results would be used. The email stated explicitly that the outcome could affect not only an employee’s role and responsibilities but also their continued employment. In effect, an assessment of how someone uses AI at work would feed into a judgment about whether they could stay at the company.

Proton had earlier said via its official account that it was not using AI as a pretext for layoffs and that it was still hiring. The company denied any job-cutting intent, yet its initial email told employees the assessment could affect whether they remained employed.

Re-interviews are off, but what happens to performance reviews?

At the same meeting where he announced the cancellation, Yen also signaled a reorganization next month. He said AI would not lead to fewer jobs. For employees, how the reorganization changes their duties and responsibilities matters too, since the earlier email cited role and responsibilities alongside employment as areas the assessment could touch.

One employee told 404 Media that even with the re-interviews canceled, AI usage would still factor into performance reviews.

The people most directly affected by the decision are Proton’s own employees. The thing to watch now is whether Yen’s assurance that AI will not cost anyone a job holds up through next month’s reorganization and the performance review process.