Apple Sued for Poaching Employees From Battery Maker

Apple is being sued for allegedly poaching employees from lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems.

The Massachusetts-based manufacturer filed a complaint earlier this month, claiming Apple hired away workers who have knowledge about A123's battery business.

According to the filing, Cupertino snagged five employees, all of whom had signed non-disclosure agreements with A123 that prevented them from working with a competitor for one year after leaving A123. However, four A123 employees made the switch to Apple within the last month; the fifth left A123 and headed west in June 2014.

Apple also reportedly hired workers from LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Toshiba, and Johnson Controls who have "experience in A123's battery business," the filing said.

"The departures of the individual defendants means that A123 has lost the substantial investment it made in each of these employees, and is now forced to scramble to find replacements at substantial cost," A123 said.

Among its many allegations, A123 accused all five defendants of having "stolen, copied, and carried away" confidential information and trade secrets, "with the intent to disclose it and convert it to their own use."

It also claims Apple's raid on the company has left A123 "impaired" and suffering "a severe economic impact," for which it requests compensation.

Neither Apple nor A123 responded to a request for comment.

The suit comes amidst reports that Apple has lost employees to Tesla Motors. Elon Musk and Co. reportedly poached 150 Apple workers, but Apple has not had similar success luring workers from Tesla.

In January, meanwhile, Apple, Google, Intel, and Adobe offered a joint payment of $415 million to settle an antitrust anti-poaching case. At issue were alleged deals arranged between Adobe, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, LucasFilm, and Pixar, which reportedly made pacts not to have recruiters "cold call" employees or offer positions without consulting their current employer first.