Four Tech Giants Formally Agree to $325 Million Hiring Case Settlement

Four major Silicon Valley companies have formally agreed to pay $324.5 million to settle claims brought by employees accusing them of colluding not to poach each other’s talent.

The settlement, between Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe Systems and roughly 64,000 workers, was disclosed in papers filed with the federal court in San Jose, California.

US District Judge Lucy Koh has been asked to preliminarily approve the accord at a June 19 hearing, over an objection by one of the four named plaintiffs. That plaintiff, Michael Devine, said the settlement let the companies off too easily. The settlement gives workers only a few thousand dollars each on average. The companies’ combined profit in their latest fiscal years was about $60 billion, with three-fifths coming from Apple.