Judge Rules for Amtel in Vitesse Recruiting Case

A Colorado judge has ruled that three employees with Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. in Camarillo who were hired away from rival semiconductor maker Atmel Corp. broke their agreements not to recruit remaining Atmel staff.

San Jose-based Atmel sued Vitesse in November, saying that former management-level employees who now work for Vitesse were asking other Atmel workers to go work for Vitesse. Atmel’s suit also said that Vitesse was using confidential information to build a new chip plant in Colorado Springs, Colo. Atmel also has chip-making facilities in Colorado Springs.

Atmel officials said the court granted a preliminary injunction in the lawsuit, barring the three employees from continuing to solicit Atmel workers. The judge also ordered Vitesse not to use confidential information the employees learned at Atmel.

A Vitesse employee said no one was available to comment.