Former 'Executive Producer' Of Apple's Keynote Presentations Sues Over Wrongful Termination

A former Apple employee who coordinated the company’s popular keynote presentations, and said he introduced the iPhone maker to the company behind Siri, has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit. Wayne Goodrich, who was fired by Apple in December, claims Steve Jobs had promised him job security, according to Bloomberg Business. Goodrich, who had been with Apple since 1998, served as the company’s “executive producer” of keynote presentations, which are used by Cupertino to introduce new and updated products. Additionally, Goodrich claims he was the first person to meet with representatives of Siri, Inc., which Apple acquired in 2010. Siri’s voice recognition software comes preinstalled on the iPhone 4S, and will be available on the new iPad with the iOS 6 update. In a complaint filed with the California Superior Court in Santa Clara County, Goodrich claims that the late Apple CEO promised him job security during a one-on-one meeting in May 2005. There is no word on whether documentation of this meeting exists. According to the complaint:

This express promise by Steve Jobs was consistent with a practice that Steve Jobs had, acting on behalf of defendant Apple, of promising job security to certain key employees who worked directly with him for many years.

Goodrich hopes to collect compensation for the loss of restricted stock that was worth $97.40 a share when awarded in 2008, and was worth $635 per share on Aug. 17, when the lawsuit was filed. Jobs, who resigned as Apple CEO in August 2011, died in October. Goodrich was fired late last year for “business reasons” not connected to his performance. The case is Goodrich v. Apple, 112cv230651, California Superior Court, Santa Clara County (San Jose).