Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe settle poaching lawsuit for $415 million

San Francisco: Four Silicon Valley companies including Apple and Google agreed to pay $415 million to resolve an antitrust class action lawsuit by tech workers who accused the firms of conspiring to avoid poaching each other's employees, according to a court filing on Thursday.

Plaintiffs accused Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe in the 2011 lawsuit of limiting job mobility and, as a result, keeping a lid on salaries.

The settlement is $90.5 million more than a previous deal which a US judge rejected last year as too low.