Former Zoox employees sue, alleging rival offer was better than Amazon's
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Re: Former Zoox employees sue, alleging rival offer was better than Amazon's
#2How would they possibly know the terms of either offer as former employees?
Re: Former Zoox employees sue, alleging rival offer was better than Amazon's
#3> including employees who put in years at the company but left before May 2020. Zoox was founded in 2014.
I mean, I don't want to get into the legal side, or even the ethical side, but on a practical note, former employees with stock should really expect to be at the very bottom of the pecking chain here. If you leave and hold stock, you're coming out in decent shape if you aren't completely screwed over.
Like, Amazon doesn't care about you -- you're not joining the company. The startup doesn't care -- you've already left, there's no need to retain you. Even your former coworkers likely don't give a shit; you're profiting off of work they put in to get over the finish line (to paraphrase their thoughts).
You kind of have to be on the rocket when it reaches orbit, to get the payout. I dunno what they're trying to accomplish other than make a few quick bucks to make them go away.
Re: Former Zoox employees sue, alleging rival offer was better than Amazon's
#4How would they possibly know the terms of either offer as former employees?
Wei and Zhang are asking the court to order Zoox to open its books “in order to determine whether it is appropriate to pursue litigation against all or some members of the Board and/or Company management or others based on the apparent wrongdoing in connection with the Acquisition.”
Re: Former Zoox employees sue, alleging rival offer was better than Amazon's
#5Would it matter? When presented options, they aren't required to choose the best on a given metric. They can choose any, as long as the votes align.
Perhaps the founders believed their product would go further (not die) under Amazon or that they stood to benefit more from stock rewards long term
Re: Former Zoox employees sue, alleging rival offer was better than Amazon's
#6> including employees who put in years at the company but left before May 2020. Zoox was founded in 2014. I mean, I don't want to get into the legal side, or even the ethical side, but on a practical note, former employees with stock should really expect to be at the very bottom of the pecking chain here. If you leave and hold stock, you're coming out in decent shape if you aren't completely screwed over. Like, Amazo…
On the practical side breaking the law doesn't always work though. Shareholders are owners, and regardless of how they got their shares (vesting, purchase, gift, poker game) there are rights that go along with that.
Re: Former Zoox employees sue, alleging rival offer was better than Amazon's
#7How would they possibly know the terms of either offer as former employees?
As shareholders they may have a right to certain acquisition information, even if they aren't still employed. At the very least, current employees cannot be stopped from sharing such information with shareholders.
Re: Former Zoox employees sue, alleging rival offer was better than Amazon's
#8Would it matter? When presented options, they aren't required to choose the best on a given metric. They can choose any, as long as the votes align. Perhaps the founders believed their product would go further (not die) under Amazon or that they stood to benefit more from stock rewards long term
The board has a fiduciary duty to act in the interest of shareholders.
If the shareholders were not part of a vote, ie. the board voted, then the board is potentially liable for damages.
Re: Former Zoox employees sue, alleging rival offer was better than Amazon's
#9> including employees who put in years at the company but left before May 2020. Zoox was founded in 2014. I mean, I don't want to get into the legal side, or even the ethical side, but on a practical note, former employees with stock should really expect to be at the very bottom of the pecking chain here. If you leave and hold stock, you're coming out in decent shape if you aren't completely screwed over. Like, Amazo…
On the practical side breaking the law doesn't always work though. Shareholders are owners, and regardless of how they got their shares (vesting, purchase, gift, poker game) there are rights that go along with that.
Sure, the right to get paid out the same as all other common shareholders.
But will the company structure an acquisition so more of the payout is golden handcuffs than equity payout, if it's better for retention? Well, yes.
Re: Former Zoox employees sue, alleging rival offer was better than Amazon's
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
On the practical side breaking the law doesn't always work though. Shareholders are owners, and regardless of how they got their shares (vesting, purchase, gift, poker game) there are rights that go along with that.
Sure, the right to get paid out the same as all other common shareholders. But will the company structure an acquisition so more of the payout is golden handcuffs than equity payout, if it's better for retention? Well, yes.
Will some shareholders sue? Probably. Will they recover any additional value? Maybe! Have to see how it plays out in court if a settlement doesn't occur first.