President Trump’s edicts by social media continued last night, calling for Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign and accusing him of close ties to China.
In a public note to all Intel employees yesterday (7 August), Lip-Bu Tan reminded them he has lived in the US for more than 40 years and that he loved the country, after Donald Trump wrote a Truth Social post calling for him to resign over his ties to Chinese companies.
The Truth Social post comes just days after close Trump ally – not known for his moderate views – senator Tom Cotton wrote a letter to Intel’s board, complaining that Tan “controls dozens of Chinese companies and has a stake in hundreds of Chinese advanced-manufacturing and chip firms”, some of which he claimed had “ties to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army”.
“Intel’s success is essential to US technology and manufacturing leadership, national security and economic strength,” said Tan in his public letter.
“This is what fuels our business around the world. It’s what motivated me to join this team, and it’s what drives me every day to advance the important work we’re doing together to build a stronger future.”
He directly addressed the “misinformation” doing the rounds as regards his previous roles with Walden International and Cadence Design Systems.
“I want to be absolutely clear: Over 40-plus years in the industry, I’ve built relationships around the world and across our diverse ecosystem – and I have always operated within the highest legal and ethical standards. My reputation has been built on trust – on doing what I say I’ll do, and doing it the right way. This is the same way I am leading Intel.”
Tan went on to say Intel was “engaging with the administration to address the matters that have been raised and ensure they have the facts”, and in what has become the norm among tech CEOs under the current US administration, he slipped in some ‘praise’ for Trump.
“I fully share the president’s commitment to advancing US national and economic security, I appreciate his leadership to advance these priorities, and I’m proud to lead a company that is so central to these goals,” he said.
To add to Tan’s woes, The Wall Street Journal reported that Tan and Intel’s board have been at odds in recent times over his strategy for the troubled chipmaker.
“The board is fully supportive of the work we are doing to transform our company, innovate for our customers and execute with discipline – and we are making progress,” Tan said, in a clear reference to that story.
This all comes at a time when Intel has been trying desperately to restructure and recoup some of the ground it has lost to chip giants such as Nvidia, which have streaked ahead of Intel in recent years. It recently halted plans for further fab builds in Europe, and announced thousands of layoffs, including at its Leixlip site.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.
