Mattson Technology Responds to Baseless Allegations Raised in Recent Media Reporting
No evidence to support the allegations raised against Mattson
Applied Materials’ reckless accusations are unfounded and without merit
FREMONT, Calif., June 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Mattson Technology, Inc. (“Mattson”) today responded to unfounded allegations featured in a recent Bloomberg News article discussing the Company’s active legal dispute with Applied Materials (“Applied”).
We recognize that false narratives like these are featured prominently in our industry, and in the business strategies of our rivals. The court process is designed to reveal the truth and we are confident that it will continue to do so. We are very fortunate that these false claims will not disrupt our ability to meet our customers’ needs.
Mattson remains committed to delivering leading-edge wafer processing equipment at high productivity levels to continue providing our customers with cost-effective solutions while complying with all applicable regulatory and legal obligations.
Simply put, the claims made against Mattson have no merit. We are confident that they will be resolved in our favor. Applied Materials’ complaint filed in this case was submitted approximately 16 months ago and it did not include any evidence to support the allegations raised against Mattson. Despite a vigorous court process, no related evidence has appeared since the case was initially filed, and none will appear in the future because the allegations are entirely false.
The reckless accusation that Mattson hired employees departing Applied to acquire their intellectual property is unfounded and without merit. Mattson acted properly in hiring these individuals. For context, over recent years, more than 15 former key technologists and executives have left Mattson for Applied, and more than 40 former Mattson employees are currently employed at Applied.
It is also important to note that California – where both companies are headquartered – is a strong at-will employment state, which protects an employee’s right to leave any job without cause or reason. As such, it is illegal for an employer to engage in any behavior that would intentionally hinder an employee’s mobility. Non-competes, like the one instituted by Applied in this instance, serve to hinder employee mobility and are not legal under California law.
Additionally, Mattson played no role in and had no knowledge of any behavior described in the article by departing Applied employees. However, departing employees resetting company-issued phones that are full of personal data and photos, or not wanting to disclose their new employer before they’ve joined, is commonly considered routine behavior for departing employees leaving any company.
Moreover, Mattson did not ask any prospective employees to bring information from their former employer. On the contrary, in the instance of Dr. Lai, Mattson conditioned his employment on an agreement that he would not bring any such information – an agreement Dr. Lai has upheld as corroborated by an extensive forensic analysis that was submitted to the Court.
Applied Materials has had almost a year and a half to back up these meritless claims in the court of law. It has failed to do so. It is disappointing that Applied Materials has leveraged a highly respected media outlet as a platform to repeat these unfounded allegations without any proof.
About Mattson Technology, Inc.
Mattson Technology, a Delaware Company headquartered in Fremont, California, designs, manufactures, markets and supports semiconductor wafer processing equipment. Mattson’s dry strip, plasma etch, rapid thermal processing and millisecond annealing equipment are used in high volume manufacturing by leading memory and logic chip makers around the world. New innovations from Mattson in atomic surface engineering® address the most critical 3D logic and memory manufacturing challenges. Learn more at www.mattson.com.
Company Contact:
Mattson Technology, Inc. Corporate Communications
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