Apple, Google, Intel And Adobe Settle Antitrust Lawsuit Over No-Hire Agreement

Four of Silicon Valley’s largest tech companies have settled an antitrust lawsuit brought against them over a shared no-hire agreement that prevented poaching employees from one company by another. The terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed, according to Reuters, but this averts a trial that had been scheduled to start later in May.

The class action lawsuit represented around 64,000 employees and estimates of potential damages were as high as $9 billion, a figure the plaintiffs were confident about given their perception of the strength of their evidence in the case. The settlement that was reached wasn’t disclosed, as mentioned, but given the potentially astronomical damages that could’ve resulted, you can imagine the payout likely involved a considerable sum.

Google confirmed the existence of the filing to TechCrunch but wouldn’t comment on its contents.