Lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems has filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts state court claiming that five of its employees violated non-disclosure agreements as they left to work for Apple, or intended to do so.
DETROIT, MI - Lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems has filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts state court claiming that five of its employees violated non-disclosure agreements as they left to work for Apple, or intended to do so.
That's according to a report in Bloomberg, which says the suit, which has since been moved to federal court, seeks to bar one employee from breaking his employment agreement and asks the judge to require Apple to return any confidential documents.
Apple's secretive Titan Project, which has recruited automotive industry engineers, designers and even executives, has become less secretive as reports continue to speculate that the cash-heavy technology giant is developing an electric car.
(Related: Is Apple developing an electric vehicle?)
However, several top industry analysts believe the Cupertino, Calif. company could just be aiming for more of a presence in the automotive industry, such as in existing automaker's dashboards via car controls and infotainment systems, rather than actually trying to build its own car.
Apple has not returned calls seeking comment.
Initially founded in Massachusetts in 2001 and now with its headquarters in Livonia, A123 Systems was sold to the American arm of Chinese auto parts company Wanxiang Group in 2013. A123 Systems manufactured lithium-ion batteries for electric cars at plants in Livonia and Romulus after receiving $249 million in loans from the federal government.
David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter