Uber threatens to fire former Google engineer over self-driving car spat with Waymo

Uber has threatened to fire Anthony Levandowski, the former Google engineer at the centre of Uber's court case with Alphabet's Waymo, accused of stealing self-driving car trade secrets. Waymo sued Uber alleging that Levandowski, one of the former engineers key to the development of Google's self-driving cars, downloaded more than 14,000 confidential documents before leaving Waymo to start self-driving truck firm Otto, which was subsequently bought by Uber. According to a court filing, Uber told Levandowski that he must comply with an order to return Waymo documents or face possible termination. Uber general counsel, Salle Yoo, wrote in a letter to Levandowski: "If you do not agree to comply with all of the requirements set forth herein, or if you fail to comply in a material manner, then Uber will take adverse employment action against you, which may include termination of your employment." The case, which pits the two companies battling for dominance in the fast-growing field of self-driving cars, hinges on Waymo's allegations that data taken by Levandowski made its way into a key sensor system for self-driving cars called Lidar.