Google’s $10 million bid for Spirit Airlines’ internal business data is raising questions about what can happen to employees’ workplace communications after a company shuts down, Business Insider reports.
Google won a bankruptcy auction for a collection of Spirit’s corporate data, including internal documents, workflows, employee emails, Microsoft Teams messages, and software code. The proposed sale remains subject to approval by a U.S. bankruptcy court.
The data includes about 100 million emails and 500 million Teams messages, according to court filings. Google outbid AI recruiting company Mercor, which submitted a $7.5 million offer.
Google has said it could use the information for product development and artificial intelligence systems. The company said a third party would remove personally identifiable information before transferring the data. The sale excludes passenger profiles, loyalty program records, and other customer information.
The transaction highlights the limited control workers can have over communications created and stored on employer-owned systems.
Employment and privacy experts told the outlet that workplace emails, chats, and other information generated through
company systems can generally be retained and used by employers, depending on company policies and applicable laws. Workers should not assume those communications will remain private or disappear after they leave a job.The growing value of workplace data comes as technology companies seek specialized information to develop and train AI systems. Internal corporate records can provide information about business operations, decision-making, and workplace communication that may not be available on the public internet.
However, employers’ ability to use or transfer employee information is not unlimited. Certain sensitive personal information remains subject to applicable privacy and data-protection laws.
The proposed Spirit Airlines sale is already facing scrutiny over those concerns. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents Spirit’s cabin crew, objected to the transaction, arguing that it could include confidential information about former employees. The union has asked that confidential employee data be excluded from the sale or receive privacy protections comparable to those covering customer information.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane postponed a hearing on the sale from Aug. 19 to Sept. 9 to allow additional time to consider the union’s concerns.
For workers, experts recommend treating workplace emails and messaging platforms as professional records and reviewing employer policies governing data retention, monitoring, and AI use.
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