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A123 Sues Apple For Poaching Employees
An anonymous reader writes "Electric-car battery maker A123 Systems is suing Apple in federal court for allegedly poaching five employees to help it develop a competing battery business. The suit accuses the workers, including A123's former chief technology officer, of breaking noncompete and nonsolicit agreements. "It appears that Apple, with the assistance of defendant Ijaz, is systematically hiring away A123’s high-tech PhD and engineering employees, thereby effectively shutting down various projects/programs at A123," according to the lawsuit. The news adds some credibility to rumors that Apple is getting into the automotive market. "
Now they complain when they do poach.
Come on.
I can see it now - It comes in only white and silver, the hood doesn't open, tires cost twice as much as non-Apple tires, you have to buy your gas only from Apple gas stations and the windshield-wiper fluid is made from the tears of children. On the plus side, the exhaust smells like a combination of vanilla and smug.
Yes, because there's no way that a company that makes portable electronics would have an interest in someone knowledgeable about batteries unless they were making cars...
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Weren't we up in arms about the artificial wage stagnation due to silicon valley employers agreeing not to "poach" (AKA participate in capitalism) each other's employees?
If A123 wants to keep their employees, they might have to *gasp* offer them better conditions/compensation? The horror.
A123 has had a number of problems, from their bankruptcy in 2012, their massive layoffs and executive bonuses, to later being purchased by a Chinese company and selling off their assets
Also, non-compete agreements are not valid in California. Even out-of-state NCAs are invalidated if the employee is to work at a CA company, (Exceptions if the employee is a stakeholder/partner/owner, which doesn't apply here).
They weren't holding their employees correctly.
A contract usually requires an exchange of consideration. If you're going to demand that one of the parties agree to terms beyond their agreed upon work duration, then you need to provide them with compensation beyond that duration.
And anyway, you can't sign away your civil rights. An employer can't make you sign a contract that says "...and I will be your slave forever and will never work for another company."
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
Our supreme court made a supremely wonderful decision on this very issue. Basically they said, that people in Canada have the right to work for anyone they want, where they want, and when they want. Also people are free to communicate thus can "poach" all they want and that any contract to the contrary would be a rights violation and thus those parts are null.
This particular decision actually even went further by saying that poaching clients was fine as well as long as the contact information was reasonably in someone's head.
The result would be that the only place that a non-compete could stand would be if there was another aspect such as the sale of a business. So if someone sold their business for $10,000,000 and then violated an agreed to non-compete there could be a lawsuit to recover some portion of the sale price. But they couldn't get any kind of injunction that would violate your constitutional rights only a monetary judgment.
So while our rights tend to be viewed as less black and white than the US constitution I was pretty much bouncing in my seat and clapping my hands when this decision came down the pipe as a serious blow against corporate tyranny.
If those five people did not take documentation from their former employer to their new employer, then they probably are clear of transferring trade secrets. After all, I'm not barred from using the skills that I learned at one employer at another employer, that's simply how the game works.
As for going for a team, this is not the first time that a team, or a significant portion of a team, has moved as a group from one company to another, and it certainly won't be the last. If A123 wants to retain their employees then they need to sweeten the pot for their employees. That could be more pay, or better working conditions, or more vacation time, or whatever those employees want. If another company makes a better offer then those employees have every right to pursue that offer.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Perhaps I should have stated it differently. They can make you sign it, but the contract itself wouldn't be worth the paper it was printed on. I can twist someone's arm and make them sign a contract agreeing to be my slave for life. But no court of law is going to recognize it as a valid.
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
I am sorry, but if you have a 371 million dollar IPO and then are bankrupt three years later, that is horrible mismanagement. Smart employees are going to leave a company like that.
-Matt
Most states that allow non-compete had requirements that you be compensated about the normal amount, that there be a time limit and resonable geographical limitation and that your job be have responsibilities that make major changes for the business.
So a cook at a restaurant would not have a valid non-compete but if you were the head cook who designed all the recipes and the menu and were paid above what the other cooks made and were limited from working with-in 100 miles of the restaurant for the next two years then most states would accept that agreement. Some allow some consideration so if you were getting a whole lot of money that 100 miles range could be extended alot further.
If these are just regular workers then few states are going to accept the non-compete besides this is in california which outlaws all non-competes except for some very strict allowances.
I'm sure someone will correct me:
I believe A123 had an exclusive with GM/Chevrolet for some time that precluded them from selling to competitors, or to the public. The enthusiast community in the US (electric car, bike, etc kits) then had to rely on re-importing A123 batteries from China/black market that had potentially been exported from the US into the grey market. This made them tough to get, but they had an ideal form factor, power density and draw rate.
If this play by Apple can change that scenario at all, it would be a big move.
Actually, I'm all for engineers attaining rock star status. Let the bidding begin. Although agents and head hunters will have to actually work for the engineers and not the employers as they do now.
It is quite common to find a good hire, and then be very interested in who they would recommend. Or the people left behind ask about this new opportunity the hire left for, become interested, and ask to have their resumes forwards. I have seen a number of hires that come in such clusters of 3 or 4 in Valley, and I am not a well connect or a highly knowledgeable person on this topic. Even the "cluster" is spread out over a few months, it can feel like "unfair" poaching if a certain key group is denuded.