Before A123 bankruptcy, CTO was making $300k a month

Earlier this year battery maker A123 Systems sued Apple, alleging that Apple was "systematically hiring away A123's high tech PhD and engineering employees, thereby effectively shutting down various projects/programs at A123." The Apple employee said to be responsible for the poaching is Mujeeb Ijaz, who was himself an A123 employee until being stolen away by Apple.

Ijaz held more than one position at A123 during his time there, being Chief Technology Officer for the company and the president of A123 Venture Technologies. The venture tech group focused on "materials research, cell product development, and advanced concepts," including the development of lithium-ion batteries for energy recovery systems used in Formula One that would have "unparalleled power density."

Court documents pertaining to the lawsuit reveal that Ijaz was making $294,000 per month at A123. If that sounds like a lot, that's because it is a lot, outside of the the executive leadership arena. The two companies have settled the lawsuit with Apple paying A123 an undisclosed settlement, but the key here is that if anyone has any doubt that Apple is doing something serious with big batteries, like, oh, building an electric car and who knows what else, then this should silence it.