What Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt actually said when Google built Android
The article details historical emails between Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt regarding Google's recruitment of Apple employees. It clarifies that while recruiters were fired for violating anti-solicitation agreements, the specific 'smiley face' email was sent to an internal HR executive rather than to Schmidt.
Why it matters
It provides historical context on the aggressive competition for engineering talent in Silicon Valley and corrects misconceptions about corporate communications between tech giants.
Long before Apple and Google became fierce rivals in the smartphone era, an exchange between Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt revealed how seriously Silicon Valley leaders viewed the battle for engineering talent. According to a report by Reuters, court documents later made public lic showed jobs personally asked Google to stop recruiting Apple employees, prompting swift action from Google’s leadership. The emails that surfaced during the civil litigation involving Apple, Google and several other technology companies accused of conspiring to suppress employee compensation by limiting competition for skilled workers.A message from Apple founder Steve Jobs to ex-Google CEO Eric SchmidtAs reported by Reuters, when Jobs learned Google had targeted one of his employees, he emailed Schmidt directly, then Google's chairman, saying he "would be very pleased if your recruiting department would stop doing this."
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