IBM, Lenovo won't poach

Recruiting other's workers is a no-no

Even as Lenovo and IBM lay off employees, the companies continue to hire.

But local workers looking to switch teams might find it's more difficult than they expect.

Two years ago, when IBM spun off its personal computer business to form a joint venture with Lenovo, the companies signed an agreement not to poach each other's workers. That formal agreement expired May 1, but its spirit lives on.

Going forward, the companies are making a "good-faith effort" not to actively recruit one another's employees, Lenovo spokesman Ray Gorman said. That means they won't target specific employees from the other company without considering candidates from other sources, he said.

As for workers, "they're free to apply for any job at any company they want," but they won't get preferential treatment, despite their companies' shared history, Gorman said.

No-pirating agreements aren't uncommon, said Benson Rosen, a management professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler business school. Many departments at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University have a similar understanding, he said.

IBM and Lenovo entered into the legally binding agreement in 2005 to protect Lenovo's $1.25 billion investment, Gorman said.

"One of the acquired assets ... was the skill and expertise of the IBM PC division employees," he said. "Obviously with those two companies coming together, the IBM PC division employees were very well known to IBM and vice-versa."

But employees looking to switch companies may find themselves stymied by a pact set up more for their employers' benefit than their own. Even though employees aren't restricted in where they apply, managers might be wary of hiring them, Rosen said.

Once two companies reach a no-pirating agreement, neither wants to be seen as undermining it.

"If one breaks it, then there's open season for the other -- open warfare, a bidding war, and all that," Rosen said.

That's why companies make these kinds of gentlemen's agreements in the first place, he said. The deals eliminate rapid turnover and bidding wars that might arise over particularly desirable workers.

But they can work against employees, who want their salaries to increase and their applications to be considered wherever they apply. There are no restrictions against IBM or Lenovo hiring the others' employees, Gorman said, just against giving them special treatment.

Employees at Lenovo and IBM already have been toiling in an uncertain environment.

Lenovo announced last month that it would lay off 350 employees in Morrisville by early June. IBM said Wednesday that it would lay off 50 in Research Triangle Park over the next month. The other 11,000 local employees at IBM and 1,350 at Lenovo also might be considering their options elsewhere.

Employees who are dead-set on working at the other company might have to be aggressive about getting their resumes considered. Rosen advises that they work their connections.

"See if the company will make an exception based on who they know," he said. "Since these are not legal rules, I'm sure they can be bent."