HP sues ex-CEO Hurd over new job at rival Oracle
Hewlett-Packard Co. is suing the chief executive it ousted last month, Mark Hurd, to stop him from taking a top job at rival Oracle Corp. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a California state court, came a day after Oracle hired Hurd as co-president to help lead the database software maker’s efforts to steal business from HP. HP claims that Hurd won’t be able to perform his job at Oracle without spilling HP’s trade secrets and violating a confidentiality agreement.
This type of complaint isn’t unusual in the technology world, nor is the confidentiality agreement that Hurd had signed as part of a severance package from HP that could top $40 million. Technology companies often require such agreements because workers walk out the door with valuable technical information. But the stakes are higher with Hurd than a rank-and-file employee, and the lawsuit may delay when Hurd could start his new job. The latest lawsuit shows the growing rancor between HP and Oracle.
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