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.
Intel, which 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.
A naturalised US citizen born in Malaysia and raised in Singapore, he is a venture capitalist well-known for his expertise in the semiconductor industry.
In an update to investors this week, 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 1.8% in morning trading 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.
Trump is known for targeting business leaders with public criticism to a degree unheard of in other presidents, but even by his standards, the demand that the leader of a private company resign is extraordinary.
Responding to critics who said he had gone too far, the White House told the BBC: “President Trump remains fully committed to safeguarding our country’s national and economic security. This includes ensuring that iconic American companies in cutting-edge sectors are led by men and women who Americans can trust.”
The president has been concerned about China taking advantage of US technology since his first term, but his policies have been mixed.
He has recently threatened tariffs on semiconductors – a move almost universally opposed by the business community – while loosening some rules forbidding business with Chinese firms after pleas from tech giants such as Nvidia.
In a statement earlier this week, Intel defended Mr Tan, saying he and the company were “deeply committed to the national security of the US and the integrity of our role in the US defense ecosystem”.
The statement was made in response to a letter that Republican Senator Tom Cotton sent to Intel’s board seeking information about Mr Tan’s hiring and his ties to China.
Cotton said he was concerned “about the security and integrity of Intel’s operations and its potential impact on US national security”.
He 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’s ties to China were also the subject of a Reuters investigation in April, which found that he had invested at least $200 in hundreds of Chinese companies, some of which are linked to the Chinese military. The investments were made either personally or though his funds between 2012 and December 2024.
A 2024 congressional report examining ties between US investment firms and Chinese businesses had also spotlighted some of the holdings of Mr Tan’s San Francisco-based investment firm, Walden International.
Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, a Trump ally, took up the attack on Mr Tan on Thursday, criticising Intel for delays in its plans for chip manufacturing in the US.
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