Remember that civil lawsuit looming over the heads of some of the top Silicon Valley companies for conspiring not to poach each other’s employees? The latest juicy tidbit to leak from that involves Steve Jobs sending Eric Schmidt an email demanding that Google stop stealing.
Reuters say the email, sent in 2007, was quickly acted upon by a receptive Schmidt.
“I would be very pleased if your recruiting department would stop doing this,” Jobs wrote.
Schmidt forwarded Job’s email onto other, undisclosed recipients.
“Can you get this stopped and let me know why this is happening?” Schmidt wrote.
Google’s staffing director responded that the employee who contacted the Apple engineer “will be terminated within the hour.”
He added: “Please extend my apologies as appropriate to Steve Jobs.”
That’s not good. And though all these companies settled with with the US Department of Justice in a criminal court, the more anecdotes like this that surface, the more money they’ll have to shell out when they inevitably settle in the civil court. [Reuters via Apple Insider]
The Joker
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 12:33 PMI hope the Google employee takes Google to the cleaners. This sort of corporate behaviour really bugs me…..greedy bastards. Do no harm indeed.
Steve
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 9:22 PMHow is that evil? You realise that poaching is exactly what keeps companies hungry and competitive right? It’s this exact sort of behaviour that got Apple and Google in trouble in the first place. Unofficial no-poaching policies greatly stifles employment prospects for workers and really doesn’t help anyone other than (ostensibly) protecting trade secrets.
deadnotsleeping
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 12:41 PMsounds fake. A very Ideal conversation there
Drew
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 1:20 PMUnfair dismissal anyone?
wsDK_II
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 1:27 PM+ 1
WTF google? employ someone then terminate them? what about their family?
i hope their job was waiting for them back at Apple.
also, why are there only 2 guys in the image above? seems a bit sexist to me….
Sicarius123
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 2:02 PMRead it again.
The poacher was terminated.
Mark
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 2:05 PMRead it again.
It says the employee who contacted the apple employee will be terminated.
So the head hunter will be terminated. Not the person that swapped jobs.
Apple ex Pete
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 7:33 PMSteve jobs was a prick! We get it! move on !!..
smurfydog
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 8:32 PMWhile I agree with your assesment of Jobs, in this case he was only as much of a prick as Google let him be. And helped him to be.
Seriously, Do no evil, Google?
Harrison
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 8:59 PMHow is this Jobs’ fault? He wanted Google to stop recruiting Apples employees. It was Google’s Recruitment guy that got fired……
If anything Steve did the right thing by emailing them……
Mr Odd
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 9:17 PMSteve Jobs had right to be pissed at Google steal his staff, that’s not illegal.
I believe the issue is when Google follows that request.
But I think this a fake.
jeremy
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 11:01 AMIt is illegal actually, in most western countries, it is a form of anti-competitive behaviour (cartel). Google breached for complying (cartel) and Apple for asking (abuse of market power) Thus the DOJ agreement. It is also very very bad (evil) for employees – the head of HR TERMINATES someone for doing the right thing by thier employer in finding good staff and prevents people from getting better paid and/or better work – wow if the mail is real google employees should track down that person (not hard), tar them, feather them and run them out of town – what a complete corporate-nazi bastard !