The petition and the company's response
More than 300 Boston Dynamics employees, about half anonymously, signed a letter sent to leadership in early September to demand a halt to the sale of Spot quadruped robots to the U.S. federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, ICE. The news, reported by Ars Technica, cites copies of the letter shared with The Boston Globe and public radio WBUR. The signatories represent a minority of the workforce, which the company puts at about 1,400 people.
Management has not changed its position. Former interim CEO Amanda McMaster, in an email reported by the two outlets, wrote that the decision is consistent with the goal of developing intelligent machines ethically in the service of humanity, and invited employees to respect it even if they do not agree with it. A spokesperson reiterated that the robots will not be used as weapons and that Spot is meant to keep people away from danger.
What the contract covers
The Department of Homeland Security contract, awarded on September 25, is worth $1.3 million and names as recipient Radeco, a Connecticut company that adapts Boston Dynamics' quadrupeds and markets them under the name Cerberus. The agreement covers four units intended, according to the cited text, to detect radiation, toxic gas leaks and explosive threats in urban environments or disaster zones, as well as remote observation and inspection missions.
The equipment includes an oxygen sensor to check air quality in confined spaces such as tunnels, a camera with 30x zoom, 360-degree footage and infrared thermal imaging. An optional robotic arm is planned for manipulating objects and opening doors. The contract justifies the purchase with the fight against illegal cross-border tunnels and human trafficking networks, and describes the machine as capable of repeatable autonomous missions with minimal human intervention.
The Hyundai precedent and internal doubts
The petition cites a worksite enforcement operation by ICE and Homeland Security Investigations on September 4, 2025, at the Hyundai Metaplant America plant in Georgia, with 475 workers, mostly South Korean, detained. Hyundai Motor Group has been Boston Dynamics' parent company since June 2021. Employees write that they cannot be proud to work for a company whose products are used by an agency that, they say, intimidates civilians, including colleagues in the group.
The text also cites the fear of losing staff and making the company less attractive as an employer. The company responded that it has collaborated with the Department of Homeland Security for years and that there are no violations of the sales terms, which prohibit using the product to harm or intimidate, as a weapon or to enable weapons. In the event of abuse, it added, it would void the warranty, suspend software updates, revoke the license and consider legal action.
Still to be verified are the actual deployment methods of the four Cerberus units and any impact on recruitment, while the company is developing a $100 million robotics hub in Waltham, Massachusetts, with 1,250 hires planned by 2033.
