Apple Inc. was accused in a lawsuit of embarking on an aggressive campaign to poach employees from a lithium-ion battery maker amid reports that it’s developing an electric car, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The lawsuit, filed this month in Massachusetts state court by A123 Systems LLC, also accuses five of its former employees of violating non-disclosure agreements as they either went to work for Apple or planned to. The case was moved to federal court in Boston this week. A123 rose to prominence in 2007 when then-General Motors Corp. worked with it to develop battery technology as the automaker prepared what would become the Chevrolet Volt, an electric-plug-in hybrid car. GM ultimately picked South Korea-based LG Chem Ltd. as the winner of the first battery contract for the Volt in 2009. Wanxiang Group Corp. won approval from the U.S. government to acquire A123 out of bankruptcy reorganization in 2013.
