Former leader of Uber’s autonomous vehicle division, Anthony Levandowski, could lose his job if he doesn’t fully comply with court orders. Levandowski received a letter from his employer informing him of the potential consequences of his actions.
Levandowski is at the center of a large lawsuit between Alphabet’s Waymo and Uber. Waymo alleges Levandowski stole thousands of secret documents during his time at the company and eventually brought them to Uber.
The judge in the case has already ordered Levandowski to no longer work on lidar technology at Uber.
Waymo says he’s been holding up the discovery process in the case due to refusing to answer questions. He’s been using the Fifth Amendment to remain quiet.
A letter from Uber gave him two options. One, he could deny “ever having taken any downloaded materials from Google.” Or two, he could hand over any materials he stole from Google.
If he decides not to pick either of those options, Levandowski could face termination.
A filing from Levandowski’s lawyers alleges the court’s orders and Uber’s threat violates his right to avoid self-incrimination.
