Sandberg says Facebook rebuffed Google no-poaching pact
While other Silicon Valley companies were allegedly colluding to prevent recruiting of each other's employees, Facebook refused Google's request to participate, according to a recent court filing.
Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said in a court filing unsealed Friday that she was approached around 2008 by a senior Google executive with a proposal to limit recruiting and hiring activities between the two companies but declined. The lawsuit, which is scheduled to go to trial in May, accuses Adobe Systems, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, Lucasfilm, and Pixar of conspiring to eliminate competition for employees by fixing wages and agreeing not to actively recruit from each other.
"In or about August 2008, I was contacted by Jonathan Rosenberg, who was then at Google," Sandberg said in her filing. "Mr. Rosenberg expressed concern about what he described as the perceived rate at which Facebook could hire employees from Google. Around the same time, I also discussed a similar topic with Omid Kordestani, who was also at Google."