India Probes Givaudan, DSM-Firmenich, IFF for Anti-Poaching Deals

India's antitrust watchdog, the India===Competition Commission of India (CCI), has launched an investigation into global fragrance makers Givaudan, DSM-Firmenich, and International Flavors & Fragrances. The probe, initiated in August after a company approached the CCI under a leniency program, focuses on accusations of anti-poaching agreements, or 'gentlemen's agreements,' among these firms since 2002, which allegedly restrict job opportunities and suppress wages for workers in India and globally. This marks India's first antitrust case concerning labor practices. The CCI reviewed at least 30 emails as evidence and its investigators will prepare a report, a process that could take over a year. International Flavors & Fragrances is cooperating with the CCI, though its attempt to quash the investigation in the India===Delhi High Court was unsuccessful. Similar investigations are also underway by Swiss, British, and European antitrust regulators. The Indian regulator can impose substantial financial penalties, up to three times a company's profit or 10% of its global turnover for each year of wrongdoing.