A company that makes batteries for electric cars is suing Apple, saying the consumer electronics giant has unfairly recruited a number of its top engineers to build a large-scale electric-vehicle battery division.
A123 Systems submitted the filing earlier this month in Massachusetts federal court. An industry source said the company best known for its iPhone and Macintosh products convinced several A123 Systems engineers with deep expertise in car systems (with specific focus on those with Tesla Inc. backgrounds) to break their contract with the company.
Additionally, this source said representatives with Apple have been actively talking with industry experts and automakers to gather knowledge and learn how to make its own electric car.
Per the courthouse paperwork, Apple began aggressively poaching A123 engineers in June 2014. These individuals were tasked with leading some of the company’s most important projects before they suddenly decided to jump ship to pursue similar programs with Apple.
“Apple is currently developing a large-scale battery division to compete in the very same field as A123,” the lawsuit reads.
For those unfamiliar with A123 Systems, the company is an industrial lithium-ion battery maker, and has the backing of a $249 million US government grant supporting it.
Specifically, the company specializes builds big batteries for use in big machines, including cars.
While it was not revealed what, exactly, the engineers who left were working on while at A123 Systems, court documents stated that the individuals who left were of such importance that the projects they were working on had to be abandoned following their departures.
Worth noting: In 2012, A123 filed for bankruptcy, and it has been selling off its assets since then.
Neither Apple nor A123 have responded to requests for comment.
Via Business Insider
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