The former head of Ford's European operations would "inevitably" disclose trade secrets if he moved to a rival and should be barred from working for a competitor for two years, the car firm said in court papers filed last Friday.
Ford was responding to a €60 million lawsuit from Martin Leach, who claims he was fired as head of the European division this summer after discussing a job offer from Fiat with his superiors.
The company denies that he was fired, saying he tried to withdraw his resignation after realising that Ford would enforce a two-year non-compete clause in his contract.
Leach has not threatened to use any confidential Ford data, but the company argues that it would be impossible for him to work in the industry and not take advantage of such information. If accepted by the court, this could stop senior executives moving to rivals without a long "gardening leave".
The legal argument could allow Ford to enforce the two-year non-compete agreement even if the court rules that Leach was, in fact, fired, something which renders most of the agreement invalid.
Leach is asking for compensation for being blocked from taking up the job as head of Fiat's automotive business, which was conditional on agreement from Ford to waive the clause. The job would have earned him €1.8 million a year with a €1 million signing-on bonus, but Herbert Demel, a VW veteran, has since been appointed by Fiat.
Ford's legal filing also points out that Mr Leach has not repaid the company for the shares, worth one year's salary, which he was given last year as an incentive to sign the non-compete. - Financial Times Service