By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Sunday has called on the head of US chipmaker Intel to resign “immediately”, accused him of having problematic ties to China.
He said in a social media post that CEO Lip-Bu Tan was “highly conflicted”, referring to Mr Tan’s alleged investments in companies that the US says are tied to the Chinese military. It is unusual for a president to demand the resignation of a corporate executive.
Intel has received billions of dollars from the government to support semiconductor manufacturing in the US, did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Tan was appointed in March to turn around the tech giant, as it fell behind China and other competitors in chips development, media reports said.
A naturalized US citizen born in Malaysia and raised in Singapore, he is a venture capitalist well-known for his expertise in the semiconductor industry.
He said the firm would be scaling back its investments in manufacturing, including in the US, to match demand from customers. Intel has already cut thousands of jobs this year as part of an effort to “right-size” the firm.
Shares in Intel fell more than 3% by midday after the attack from Trump, who has been critical of the firm previously and is preparing to raise tariffs on the chip industry.
“The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem,” Trump wrote, BBC reported.
It is not illegal for Americans to invest in Chinese firms.
Washington has ramped up restrictions since Trump’s first term, as it pushes to break business ties between the US and China when it comes to advanced technology, as both Democrats and Republicans openly worry about national security.
Trump’s attack took up concerns aired by Republican Senator Tom Cotton this week in a letter to Intel’s board that said Mr Tan’s “associations raise questions about Intel’s ability” to be a “responsible steward of American taxpayer dollars and to comply with applicable security regulations”.
In a statement Intel defended its relatively new chief executive, saying Mr Tan and the company were “deeply committed to the national security of the US and the integrity of our role in the US defense ecosystem”.
Trump is known for targeting business leaders with public criticism to a degree unheard of with other presidents. But, even by his standards, the demand that the leader of a private company resign is extraordinary.
“Intel has been a hope for America to build out more chip capacity and has struggled to do so to date,” said Janet Egan, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.
“It’s important that we get continuity of leadership to support that ramping up of capacity.”
