Tech giants reportedly targeted in DOJ recruiting probe
Apple, Google, and Yahoo are among the tech giants being investigated by the Justice Department for possible antitrust violations related to negotiations over the recruiting and hiring of one another's employees, according to a Washington Post report.
The review is said to be "industrywide" and in preliminary stages, according to the report, which cited two unnamed sources. Companies that agree not to hire away talent could be stifling competition, the report noted.
Representatives for Apple, Google, Yahoo, and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Tech companies, known for their exhaustive recruiting efforts, have waged fierce battles to maintain top talent. In one closely watched case, Google was sued by Microsoft in 2005 over Google's decision to hire Kai-Fu Lee away from Microsoft to run Google's research operation in China. The two parties eventually settled out of court.
IBM has proved particularly territorial about departing executives. Last month, the company filed a lawsuit in federal court to prevent its former head of mergers and acquisitions, David Johnson, from joining Dell, saying it would be a violation of his contract.
Last year, IBM sued Mark Papermaster to keep him from joining Apple. The lawsuit's claims were nearly identical, with IBM charging that Papermaster's joining Apple would cause him to divulge trade secrets and was a violation of the noncompete clause to which he agreed. IBM and Papermaster settled after three months, and Papermaster finally started working at Apple three months later.
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. Before joining CNET News in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers. E-mail Steven. 
"As I have said before, much hypocrisy here - employees can leave whenever they want to but employers are expected to hold jobs open for life."
That's how it is there in France. No wonder they have such high unemployment.
The Washington Post article specifically named Google, Apple and Yahoo in their article, as well as one or two lesser firms. If indeed MSFT was also targeted in this investigation RIGHT NOW, I suspect the Post would NOT have left that out.
What I REALLY wonder is whether firms like IBM and Microsoft--the ones who are the "victims" of key employee-filching--are actually the ones BEHIND the instigating of this investigation.
- by ewwwwwwwww June 3, 2009 11:16 AM PDT
- I'm so commenting omg
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