5 ms·

Broadcom Sues SpaceX for Allegedly Poaching Employees

21 points by kodis 11y ago

supergeek133 11y ago
Can we stop calling it poaching? It's one thing if these folks were hired, and it's proven that they shared proprietary data with SpaceX against some kind of agreement/non-compete or patent violation. But if they went just to share pure knowledge of the technology, were paid more, and/or left because of a working environment... that's not poaching. That's called a better offer.
- bmm6o 11y ago
  Exactly. TFA makes it sound like SpaceX is a shitty partner, but it's not clear what laws they are alleged to have broken.
- maxxxxx 11y ago
  It should just be called "hiring". It's another thing where language gets deliberately skewed against employees.
garrettheaver 11y ago
Does SpaceX need to "poach" people. I'd have assumed people were lined up around the corner to work for them?
- thelambentonion 11y ago
  While I can't comment directly on what hiring at SpaceX looks like internally, I can say that many experienced members of the aerospace community are not interested in working at them for a variety of reasons. High up on this list is poor work/life balance, that the company is associated with (worse even than the typical awful work/life balance in aerospace at-large). Not wanting to deal with the absurdly unrealistic deadline or engineering expectations that the company is known for is a close second. In the interest of full disclosure I did interview with SpaceX and was rejected due to a lack of experience. I don't think this colors my opinion too much, as most of the above complaints come from talented engineers who have been working in the industry much longer than I.
  - garrettheaver 11y ago
    I appreciate the reply and that what you mention is undoubtedly a major turnoff for many people depending on attitude to work/life balance and family, etc. I guess I'd wonder whether SpaceX would ever intentionally target those people for "poaching" though given they're not a cultural fit to begin with? It would appear from the outside to be quite a self selecting situation?
lawnchair_larry 11y ago
Cool, where is the lawsuit against Broadcom for attempting to interfere with the skilled labor market? They have a lot of nerve making this claim.
stormcrowsx 11y ago
I bet if Broadcom had offered the right amount of money or benefits their employees wouldn't have left them.

21 points by kodis 11y ago

Can we stop calling it poaching? It's one thing if these folks were hired, and it's proven that they shared proprietary data with SpaceX against some kind of agreement/non-compete or patent violation. But if they went just to share pure knowledge of the technology, were paid more, and/or left because of a working environment... that's not poaching. That's called a better offer.

bmm6o 11y ago
Exactly. TFA makes it sound like SpaceX is a shitty partner, but it's not clear what laws they are alleged to have broken.
maxxxxx 11y ago
It should just be called "hiring". It's another thing where language gets deliberately skewed against employees.

garrettheaver 11y ago

Does SpaceX need to "poach" people. I'd have assumed people were lined up around the corner to work for them?

thelambentonion 11y ago
While I can't comment directly on what hiring at SpaceX looks like internally, I can say that many experienced members of the aerospace community are not interested in working at them for a variety of reasons. High up on this list is poor work/life balance, that the company is associated with (worse even than the typical awful work/life balance in aerospace at-large). Not wanting to deal with the absurdly unrealistic deadline or engineering expectations that the company is known for is a close second. In the interest of full disclosure I did interview with SpaceX and was rejected due to a lack of experience. I don't think this colors my opinion too much, as most of the above complaints come from talented engineers who have been working in the industry much longer than I.
- garrettheaver 11y ago
  I appreciate the reply and that what you mention is undoubtedly a major turnoff for many people depending on attitude to work/life balance and family, etc. I guess I'd wonder whether SpaceX would ever intentionally target those people for "poaching" though given they're not a cultural fit to begin with? It would appear from the outside to be quite a self selecting situation?

lawnchair_larry 11y ago

Cool, where is the lawsuit against Broadcom for attempting to interfere with the skilled labor market? They have a lot of nerve making this claim.

stormcrowsx 11y ago

I bet if Broadcom had offered the right amount of money or benefits their employees wouldn't have left them.