The U.S. Justice Department has questioned General Electric Co., Sony Corp. and Nvidia Corp. as part of a probe into the technology industry’s recruiting and hiring practices, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Authorities are examining whether companies secretly agreed to not recruit or hire each other’s employees, an antitrust violation that could deprive workers of higher salaries, said the person, who requested anonymity.
The disclosure that officials at the three companies have been questioned indicates a wider investigation than was previously known publicly. The Wall Street Journal has reported that the investigation also involves Intel Corp., International Business Machines Corp., Google Inc., Apple Inc. and IAC/InteractiveCorp.
Collusion of this sort “would hurt the workers” and give consumers “fewer choices,” said Robert Lande, a law professor at the University of Baltimore. Besides depressing wages, such an agreement may stifle innovation, he said.
The Justice Department hasn’t determined whether any company violated the law, said the person familiar with the matter. Investigators are still following up on leads from their discussions with the firms and examining several time periods, the person said.
via GE, Sony, Nvidia said to be part of Justice Dept. probe – The China Post.
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