Assa Abloy Restructures Smart Lock Company Level Home, Founders Depart

In a significant shake-up, Assa Abloy has laid off most of the staff at Level Home, a smart lock company known for its traditional-looking deadbolts with built-in smart technology. According to a source familiar with the decision, the company is folding Level Home into Kwikset, another Assa Abloy-owned smart lock company. Despite the restructuring, Assa Abloy claims it will continue to develop and support Level locks. The move has raised concerns about the future of Level Home's customer base, which includes hundreds of thousands of active users.

The source, who wished to remain anonymous, shared details of a meeting where staff were informed that their positions had been eliminated as part of a larger restructuring. Level Home's founders, John Martin and Ken Goto, are also departing, along with most of the engineering team. A handful of core employees will remain to complete an upcoming product launch. Assa Abloy has confirmed the restructuring but denied shutting down Level Home, stating that it will continue to operate as a business within the company.

The decision may impact customer support and access to certain features, such as auto-unlock and door status sensing, if Level's cloud services are discontinued. However, locks upgraded to Matter or added to Apple HomeKit will continue to support basic functions, and physical keys will still work.

Source: The Verge