Apple and Co. are ready to pay 415 million dollars compensation

Four Internet and technology giants - Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe - have agreed to pay $415 million in compensation in connection with a lawsuit filed against them.

In a lawsuit filed in an American court, it is argued that these firms have agreed not to lure each other employees.

The authors of the lawsuit claim that in this way companies impeded employees in their search for more attractive work.

Filed in 2011 on behalf of more than 64 thousands of employees of four companies, the claim involves compensation in the amount of 3 billion dollars.

Last year, four companies offered compensation in the amount of 324, 5 million dollars, but this offer was rejected.

Correspondence

The judge ruled that the proposed amount is too small.

If companies lose this lawsuit, the amount of payments in accordance with US anti-trust legislation can triple compared to the one in the lawsuit and reach 9 billion dollars.

The lawsuit is mainly based on electronic correspondence of company management.

Reportedly, in one of the emails, the former head of Google, Eric Schmidt, wrote to Apple's former boss, Steve Jobs, that a Google employee who tried to lure an Apple employee would be fired, BBC News reports.