General Motors (GM) has filed a lawsuit against Hyundai Motor America for leaking company confidential information and personnel.
Bloomberg reported on Dec. 17 (local time) that Hyundai Motor America poached a GM executive who participated in the development of self-driving cars and GM filed a lawsuit against Hyundai.
The dispute between the two companies erupted when former GM executive Brian Latouf moved to the position of chief safety officer of Hyundai Motor early this month. GM claims that Latouf was in a position to know about the process of developing self-driving cars in private while working for GM.
Given the striking similarity of Latouf's position between GM and Hyundai, there is no doubt that he will use the confidential, proprietary and trade secrets obtained by GM for the benefit of Hyundai Motor, GM said in a statement submitted to the court.
"Hyundai Motor fully respects Latouf's proprietary and confidential knowledge of the GM business, and has taken all necessary measures to prevent him from using them for his new role here," Hyundai Motor America said. "We expect the company to resolve the problem with good faith and resolve it quickly. "