Proton puts its workforce's use of AI to the test

29 October 2026 · Artificial intelligence

What this is about

Proton, the Swiss company behind Proton Mail and Proton VPN, is inviting part of its workforce to new conversations about their use of AI. The basis is an internal memo of 26 October 2026, which 404 Media made public and which Proton then published itself on Reddit. The conversations run from 4 November 2026 to 11 November 2026; their results feed into a broader review that may affect roles, responsibilities and continued employment. Proton denies using AI as a pretext for cutting jobs and points to a shortage of skilled workers and ongoing hiring.

Why this matters for the board and executive management

Here, AI capability becomes the yardstick for continued employment. This touches on overall management and supervision under Art. 716a OR, because such a reorganisation has strategic and employment-law consequences and at the same time affects reputation. For a company whose brand rests on data protection and distance from the big tech corporations, this tension weighs especially heavily. Employees are to bring in concrete examples of their use of AI; this means work content enters AI tools whose data flows must be disclosed. The board must be able to rely on executive management being able to demonstrate these data flows and the criteria for such an assessment.

Questions for executive management

  1. Which AI tools do our employees use today, with which company and customer data, and to which countries is this data transmitted in the process?
  2. Would we make AI skills a criterion for continued employment at our company, and on what documented and equal-treatment basis would we take this decision?

Sources

Sources