Thought Leadership
New CEO Lip-Bu Tan has only just set a course for the way out of the crisis at the ailing chip company Intel. But now there is new unrest: the US president wants him to leave immediately.
US President Donald Trump has demanded the immediate resignation of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan after an American senator accused the chip manager of being too close to China. Intel only appointed the 65-year-old to the top job in March after a months-long search. The industry veteran implemented cuts at the struggling Intel Group and also abandoned the billion-euro plans to build a factory in Magdeburg.
Lip-Bu Tan previously led the chip developer Cadence. Republican Senator Tom Cotton has now pointed out that Cadence, under his leadership, illegally sold products to a military university in China and passed on technology to a Chinese company. There are also reports that Lip-Bu Tan controls “dozens” of companies in China. Cotton demanded a response from the Intel Board of Directors by mid-August.
Trump: resignation only solution
Trump then wrote on his online platform Truth Social that Lip-Bu Tan has conflicts of interest and must resign immediately. “There is no other solution to this problem.”
Intel responded hours later with a very cautious statement. The company and Lip-Bu Tan emphasized that they are committed to the security interests of the USA. They are investing billions in their home country – and want to remain in contact with the US government.
Intel once dominated the chip industry, but then fell behind. A decisive moment was the lost battle for space in smartphones. Intel hoped to transfer its strength in the PC business to mobile devices – but more energy-efficient processors prevailed. Smartphone chips therefore do not come from Intel, but from competitors such as Qualcomm or TSMC. And Nvidia leads by a wide margin in chip systems for artificial intelligence.
dpa
