Microsoft brain drain

But the company, which will seek an injunction preventing current employees from taking positions at Microsoft, will clearly restrict employee mobility, given that Microsoft is the largest employer among development tool makers.

Borland executives said the injunction will only be temporary and for a "specific period. Yocam claims that Microsoft has engaged in "a systematic and unfair effort to impair our company's ability to compete," he said.

Borland is seeking unspecified financial damages and an immediate end to what it terms as Microsoft's "unfair practice of targeting Borland employees in order to hamper the company's ability to compete" in the development tools market. Yocam said the recruitment has hurt Borland, but he declined to place any monetary figure on the alleged damage. You can't lose 34 people in key positions without doing some damage. A Microsoft representative said the company has not received a copy of the lawsuit and could not comment on specific points raised by Borland.

She did, however, confirm that the company has recruited 34 employees from Borland in the past 30 months, as Borland claims. But the representative said Microsoft has no plan to single out Borland in its recruitment efforts.

Microsoft has more than 2, current job openings and has also hired more than 2, employees over past nine months, most in highly technical areas, she claims.

The suit is the latest in what has become a common practice among increasingly competitive high-technology companies. Paul Allen can't really be considered a defection -- he left way back in for health reasons. But he's certainly become powerful, owning two sports teams, a bunch of real estate, and plenty of tech companies as well.

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