Proton's CEO Cancels AI 'Re-Interviews'

Proton CEO Andy Yen canceled plans for nearly company-wide “re-interviews” that would have required employees to explain their use of AI, amid concern that those judged insufficiently enthusiastic could be fired. The reversal followed reporting based on interviews with current and former staff, internal Slack messages, meeting audio and a company AI manifesto. That investigation described Yen pushing AI adoption to increase revenue despite employees’ concerns about security and software quality, and a workplace where staff felt unable to challenge him after he mocked or insulted them. In one exchange, Yen dismissed an employee’s call for time to security-test AI-written code and urged the team to stop handcrafting code.

At an all-hands meeting, Yen acknowledged shortcomings in his communication but said he would continue pressing for AI use. He said leadership and the board had decided to cancel the re-interviews because they had already prompted employees to learn about AI. CTO Bart Butler said the company had not abandoned security or sound engineering, and that Yen had committed to improving how he communicates. Employees differed on whether the change offered meaningful reassurance: some welcomed it, while others said AI use would still affect performance reviews and the company’s direction had not changed. The dispute has also unsettled Proton customers, who criticized leadership online and some of whom said they were canceling paid plans.