Trump calls for Intel boss to resign immediately, alleging China ties

5 hours ago Share Save Natalie Sherman BBC News Share Save

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President Donald Trump has called on the head of US chipmaker Intel to resign "immediately", accusing him of having problematic ties to China. In a social media post, he said CEO Lip-Bu Tan was "highly conflicted", apparently 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. Mr Tan was appointed in March to turn around the tech giant, a pioneer of the US chips industry that has more recently fallen behind competitors. It has received billions of dollars from the US government as part of the effort to rebuild America's semiconductor manufacturing industry.

In a statement on Thursday, Intel said it was making significant investments in the US aligned with Trump's "America First agenda". "Intel, the Board of Directors, and Lip-Bu Tan are deeply committed to advancing US national and economic security interests," it said, adding "We look forward to our continued engagement with the administration." A naturalised US citizen born in Malaysia and raised in Singapore, Mr Tan is a venture capitalist well-known for his expertise in the semiconductor industry. In a recent update to investors, 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. It is not illegal for Americans to invest in Chinese firms. But 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". Cotton pointed to Mr Tan's role as the longtime chief executive of tech firm Cadence Design Systems, which pleaded guilty in July and agreed to pay $140m over US charges that its subsidiary in China had repeatedly done business with the country's National University of Defense Technology, violating US export controls. Mr Tan himself was not indicted. In a statement earlier this week, 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".