In SUA se desfasoara acum un proces extrem de interesant in care marile companii IT, si nu numai, sunt acuzate ca au incheiat acorduri reciproce prin care se obligau sa nu isi “fure” reciproc angajatii. Steve Jobs, Eric Schmidt si alti mari presedinti de companii din Silicon Valley au cazut de acord sa nu incerce sa isi “fure” angajatii, in acest mod reducand salariile oferite pentru cei existenti, insa inhiband in acelasi timp piata locurilor de munca. Anul trecut acordurile dintre cei doi, si alte companii, au iesit la iveala, iar anul acesta statul american incearca sa afle toate detaliile si eventual sa traga la raspundere cativa vinovati.
Your proposal that we agree that neither company will hire the other’s employees, regardless of the individual’s desires, is not only wrong, it is likely illegal.[…] Palm doesn’t target other companies-we look for the best people we can find. l’d hope the same could be said about Apple1s practices. However, during the last year or so, as Apple geared up to compete with Palm in the phone space, Apple hired at least 2% of Palm’s workforce. To put it in perspective, had Palm done the same, we’d have hired 300 folks from Apple. Instead, to my knowledge, we’ve hired just three.
In procesul care se desfasoara acum, un fost manager Palm a facut cateva dezvaluiri interesante, ele devenind publice prin decizia unui judecator. Se pare ca in perioada lansarii iPhone-ului, Apple ar fi angajat 2% din oamenii celor de la Palm, iar Steve Jobs a vrut apoi sa oblige compania sa nu incerce sa atraga angajati Apple, amenintand cu procesele. Atunci cei de la Palm nu s-au speriat de afirmatiile fostului CEO al Apple, care ar fi fost suparat din cauza faptului ca 3 dintre angajatii sai ar fi plecat la Palm.
Just for the record, when Siemens sold their handset business to BenQ they didn’t sell them their essential patents but rather just gave them a license. The patents they did sell to BenQ are not that great. We looked at them ourselves when they were for sale. I guess you guys felt differently and bought them. We are not concerned about them at all. My advice is to take a look at our patent portfolio before you make a final decision here. Jobs was so furious that Palm was hiring some of his former employees that he complained to Bono, who was a cofounder of a private equity group, led by the former Apple CFO Fred Anderson, that had bought a controlling stake in Palm.
In ciuda intentiilor sale, Jobs nu pare sa ii fi speriat pe cei de la Palm, insa ceea ce a facut el era si este ilegal in SUA, insa nimeni nu il mai poate trage acum la raspundere. Avand in vedere ca procesul este in desfasurare, sunt sigur ca vom afla alte amanunte la fel de picante in zilele/saptamanile urmatoare.
