Palm Rejected Steve Jobs’ “Likely Illegal” Recruiting Offer

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs may have made a boo-boo by reportedly offering Palm an agreement to stop poaching employees. Based on communications between Jobs and former Palm chief executive Ed Colligan, Bloomberg reports that Jobs sought to prevent each company from recruiting the other’s people. “We must do whatever we can to stop this,” Jobs said after Palm hired away former Apple executive Jon Rubinstein to work on new smartphones. Colligan reportedly declined the proposal, saying that it would be “wrong” and “likely illegal.” To make matters worse, the revelation comes as the U.S. Justice Department investigates collusion among technology companies. Excrement hits fan in five, four … [Bloomberg via PC World]