The US Department of Justice has reached a settlement with six Silicon Valley firms that will bring an end to an agreement not to poach each others’ employees.
Apple, together with Adobe, Google, Intuit, Intel and Pixar had agreed not to actively seek to attract people away from the other companies, in an attempt to hold down salaries, the Justice Department concluded.
“The agreements eliminated a significant form of competition to attract highly skilled employees, and overall diminished competition to the detriment of affected employees who were likely deprived of competitively important information and access to better job opportunities,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
While the statement mention no-one by name, it said that the agreements not to cold call other firms’ employees, “were formed and actively managed by senior executives.”
