De Austin American Statesman (krant in Austin, Texas) schrijft dat Intel van plan is om zijn ontwikkelingscentrum in Austin flink uit te breiden van 250 naar 1500 werknemers. Motorola en AMD, die beide een belangrijke vestiging in Austin hebben, zijn niet blij met deze ontwikkeling omdat Intel mogelijk talenten en bedrijfsgeheimen wegkaapt:
Intel doesn't lack for money, market clout or image. But it does lack more engineers to fuel its continued growth with successful new chip designs. That's why the world's largest and most profitable chip maker is building its presence in Austin from a minor outpost to a full-fledged engineering center. And it is dishing out the perks to do it.The growth of Intel in Austin is both a stamp of approval on the local semiconductor design scene from the industry's largest player and a guarantee that the red-hot local labor market for chip engineers will grow even hotter.
[...] Intel's growth intentions here mean that rivals like Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Motorola Inc. must not only compete with Intel products, they must also compete for talent in what is expected to become an increasingly expensive war.
McDermott, a veteran design manager for Motorola, knows first hand the tensions caused by Intel's increasing presence. He created a local stir when he jumped ship to join Intel in 1998, and within weeks of his departure, Intel was actively recruiting from a list of senior Motorola chip designers in Austin.
Motorola felt threatened enough to file a lawsuit in the spring of 1999 claiming that Intel's systematic recruitment of its chip engineers would result in misappropriation of its trade secrets. The two companies settled out of court last May after Intel gave Motorola assurances that it wouldn't steal its trade secrets.