Many of the most prominent executives from Silicon Valley are expected to attend a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump this week that will help steer the complicated relationship between the incoming White House and some of the nation's most valuable companies.

Expected attendees for the Wednesday summit include Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook, Facebook Inc. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, Microsoft Corp. CEO Satya Nadella, Tesla Motors Inc. CEO Elon Musk, and both the CEO and chairman of Google parent Alphabet Inc., Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, people familiar with the plans said. The CEOs of Intel Corp., International Business Machines Corp., Oracle Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. also are expected to attend, the people said.

Other executives could be invited. Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos also received an invitation but it isn't yet clear whether he is attending.

The meeting's agenda hasn't been made public. Tech companies are concerned about Trump plans for immigration policy, antitrust enforcement and government demands for user data the companies have.

Mr. Trump, meanwhile, has emphasized the importance of boosting U.S. jobs, a subject that could put tech firms on the defensive. Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook are five of the seven most valuable companies in the U.S., yet they generally employ fewer people than big firms in other industries. The five together employ about 600,000 people, many of whom work abroad. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., meanwhile, employs 1.5 million in the U.S. The tech industry's heavy reliance on software limits the need for as many employees as other industries to manufacture, sell and distribute products and services.

During the campaign, Mr. Trump targeted companies including Apple and IBM for purportedly sending jobs overseas. He said he would "get Apple to build their damn computers and things" in the U.S. Apple says it employs more than 80,000 people in the U.S. and created an additional two million U.S. jobs indirectly.

The Obama White House was largely favorable toward Silicon Valley, from its "net-neutrality" policy requiring internet providers to treat all web traffic equally, to its hands-off approach to tech's increasing concentration of power.

For the tech industry, "The best-case scenario is being left alone," said Paul Gallant, a Cowen & Co. analyst who focuses on tech policy. "But they're so central to people's lives and the economy, that seems unlikely." Still, he said companies likely will seek common ground with Mr. Trump. "Maybe that's where Trump's deal-maker instincts lead to a manageable four years for these companies," he said.

One area of common interest could be tax reform. Mr. Trump is expected to promote corporate tax reform, which, depending on the details, could enable U.S. tech companies to bring home hundreds of billions of dollars they currently hold offshore. Apple alone holds about 91% of its $237.6 billion in cash offshore.

Tech executives broadly opposed Mr. Trump during the campaign. Ms. Sandberg publicly supported Hillary Clinton; Mr. Cook held a fundraiser for her; and Mr. Schmidt helped the Clinton campaign. Tech investor and Facebook director Peter Thiel, a Trump transition official who helped organize Wednesday's meeting, was one of the few Silicon Valley names to support Mr. Trump.

Alphabet plans to engage Mr. Trump and his team on any issues that arise that challenge their values, a person familiar with the company said. Among the policies Alphabet executives are watching are net neutrality, antitrust enforcement and the issuance of H-1B visas, which Alphabet and its tech peers use to hire skilled foreigners, the person said.

Mr. Trump has criticized net neutrality. Companies like Alphabet and Netflix Inc. support the rule because it protects their video-streaming services, but broadband providers such as Comcast Corp. and AT&T Inc. have lobbied against it.Republicans generally oppose net neutrality, and Mr. Trump tapped economist and net-neutrality opponent Jeffrey Eisenach to help pick staff for the new Federal Communications Commission.

Mr. Eisenach didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

In some areas important for tech, the incoming administration's inclinations are unclear. Mr. Trump has signaled he could toughen antitrust enforcement, and this could raise concerns for Amazon and Alphabet, which hold significant power over online retail and search.

Alphabet survived several FTC probes during the Obama administration and is battling antitrust charges in Europe. During the campaign, Mr. Trump said Amazon had a "huge antitrust problem."

But to help staff the Federal Trade Commission, Mr. Trump chose former FTC commissioner Joshua Wright, a law professor who has argued against antitrust enforcement, including in defense of Google. And Mr. Thiel has defended market concentration in tech.

"We don't know what kind of Donald Trump we're going to see," said Barry Lynn, a senior fellow who studies antitrust issues at the New America Foundation, a left-leaning Washington think tank whose board includes Mr. Schmidt. "But if Thiel and Wright are any indication of where things are going, then Silicon Valley doesn't have much to fear."

Mr. Wright declined to comment. A spokesman for Mr. Thiel also declined to comment.

Overall, tech is one of the most politically active industries, spending at least $162 million on lobbying through October this year, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Alphabet in that period had 85 registered lobbyists and spent $11.9 million lobbying on issues including antitrust, labor and patents, according to the data. The No. 2 spender was Amazon, with 54 lobbyists and $8.6 million spent lobbying on issues including trade, taxes, immigration and drone regulations.

Write to Jack Nicas at jack.nicas@wsj.com, Rolfe Winkler at rolfe.winkler@wsj.com and Laura Stevens at laura.stevens@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 11, 2016 20:05 ET (01:05 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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