Intel’s troubled turnaround is now even more troubled following Donald Trump’s call for the resignation of Malaysian-American CEO Lip-Bu Tan, citing concerns over the executive’s past links to China.
In a post on social media site Truth Social, Trump declared, “The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately.”
The statement follows Republican Senator Tom Cotton’s push for a national security review into Tan’s appointment, highlighting his past leadership of Cadence Design Systems. That’s a company that has pleaded guilty to export violations involving Chinese military-linked entities.
Tan, who became Intel CEO in March, was recruited to help the chipmaker regain ground lost to rivals such as AMD, TSMC and Nvidia. But his personal investment vehicle, Walden International, has long-standing ties to the Chinese tech sector. Ties that have been drawing fierce scrutiny from Republican politicians.
The backlash comes at a delicate time for Intel. The company secured nearly US$8.5 billion (A$13 billion) in CHIPS Act funding and US$11 billion (A$17 billion) in loans under the CHIPS Act but recently delayed a key component of its Ohio facility until the 2030s, stoking frustrations in Washington.
Samsung and TSMC, in contrast, are ploughing ahead with US$100 billion-plus investments in American fabs.
Intel’s stock slid over 3% after Trump’s broadside, reflecting mounting investor unease over the risks now entangling the firm. Analysts warn the pressure campaign from Trump, and other prominent Republican politicians, could destabilise Intel’s strategic reset and potentially call into question its role in America’s initiatives to reshore advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
Intel continues to struggle
Trump has threatened to cut Intel out of future government contracts unless it gets tougher on China.
At the time of writing, Tan remains in place and Intel has released a statement saying the company and its CEO are “deeply committed to advancing US national and economice security interests and are making significant investments aligned with the President’s America first agenda”.
But with geopolitical tensions always at risk of flaring up and the US determined to reshore high-value manufacturing, Intel is now just one of many tech companies attempting to navigate an increasingly challenging business environment.