For employees

Your work email and Slack may be licensed to AI firms. Here is how that works

A number of companies are licensing old work mail and Slack threads to AI firms, usually after the business has closed or entered bankruptcy. Whether that is lawful where you work depends on local law and your employment contract, and this page does not try to answer it.

Instead, it covers how these deals are structured, what typically gets removed, who receives the proceeds and what staff have done in response.

AI Data Offers research deskChecked against our methodology Updated October 28, 2026 3 min read 13 sources

In this article

What is going on

Futurism, drawing on a Forbes story, reported in April 2026 that former employers were selling workers' Slack and email to AI training buyers. MIT Technology Review later described labs acquiring data from startups that had closed.

Spirit Airlines is the biggest example. Its bankruptcy sale covers about 100M emails and some 500M Teams items, alongside 175,658 personnel records. Trading companies take part as well; micro1 says it licenses internal communications from firms with 30 or more staff.

What gets stripped out

Everyday work messages are the main asset. Buyers say names and personal information are deleted or substituted first. Nyne's ads describe names being turned into codes, and Polyshares hires a separate scrubbing firm.

HR files and medical records are frequently left out altogether. SimpleClosure refuses to sell them, and Google agreed to remove timecard data from its Spirit bid.

Who receives the money

Almost never the people who wrote the messages. After a startup closes, the proceeds normally end up with its senior creditors and investors. When the business is still trading, the company keeps it.

That is the point that angers many people. Comments on the Forbes story were mostly hostile, although some readers noted that employers usually own the work their staff produce.

How employees have responded

Spirit staff took their case to court. The flight attendants' union sought to keep its members' data out, and pilots argued that the risk of being identified could stop people filing confidential safety reports. Spirit's and Google's CEOs received a letter signed by 121 members of Congress, and the court appointed a consumer privacy ombudsman.

What to ask your employer

Exactly which records are part of the deal?
Who strips out personal information, and by what method?
Are personnel files, medical records and private messages excluded?
Which AI firm will end up with the data?

For owners considering a deal

Expect your team to ask every question above. One law firm's seller checklist begins by bringing in HR and internal communications as well as legal counsel. Tell staff early, and consider excluding what matters most to them: personnel files, medical records and private messages.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Do employers really sell staff messages to AI firms?

Some do, mostly after the business has closed or gone bankrupt.

Will my name appear in the data?

Normally names are stripped or replaced first, but people can still sometimes be identified.

Do staff receive any of the money?

Very rarely. The company, its creditors or its investors usually keep it.

Are HR and medical files part of it?

Often they are excluded. SimpleClosure never sells them, and Google removed timecard data from the Spirit deal.

Can I block my messages from being licensed?

That turns on your employment contract and local law. Talk to an employment lawyer or your union.

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Sources

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