Smart lock maker Level has been gutted and its founders are out

Assa Abloy has laid off the majority of staff at Level Home , the smart lock company known for building smart tech into traditional-looking deadbolts, and is folding the business into Kwikset, according to a source familiar with the decision. The Verge obtained exclusive details from a person familiar with the restructuring who requested anonymity as they were part of the layoffs. They shared an audio recording of a meeting in which Peter Boriskin, CTO for Assa Abloy North America, and Kimberly Cummins, head of North American HR, informed the majority of the staff that their positions had been eliminated, effective immediately, as “a part of a larger restructuring of the Level business.” A LinkedIn post from a now-former employee corroborates the layoffs. According to the source, Assa Abloy, a Sweden-based multinational company that purchased Level Home in 2024 , is transferring all Level Home assets to Kwikset, another Assa Abloy-owned smart lock company. They also confirmed that Level CEO John Martin and CTO Ken Goto — the company’s two founders — are departing along with most of the engineering team, raising questions about how Level Home will operate going forward. They added that a handful of core employees are being retained solely to complete an upcoming product launch for multi-family lock management. …