President Donald Trump has called for Lip-Bu Tan to immediately resign as Intel’s CEO over his reported ties to Chinese tech firms. The demand follows Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton questioning Intel’s board chairman whether Tan’s alleged connections to China would conflict with security regulations.
“The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!”
Tan was named Intel’s CEO in March to overhaul the struggling chipmaker’s business, after the board ejected his predecessor, Pat Gelsinger, three and a half years into a projected four-year turnaround plan. Under Gelsinger, Intel fell further behind TSMC as its competitor capitalized on EUV lithography — technology that Intel had invested in developing — to take the lead in next-generation chips and AI. Last month, Intel said it’s laying off 24,000 employees this year and axing planned projects in Germany and Poland.
In April, Reuters reported that Tan had previously invested in more than 600 Chinese tech firms, some of which were connected to China’s military, but had divested in an unconfirmed number of positions with Chinese entities at the time of reporting.
In a statement to Reuters on Wednesday, Intel said that the company and Tan “are deeply committed to the national security of the U.S. and the integrity of our role in the U.S. defense ecosystem.”
