Donald Trump calls on Intel chief to resign

US President Donald Trump has called for the newly appointed chief executive of Intel, Lip-Bu Tan, to resign, alleging that the semiconductor industry veteran is “highly conflicted”.

“The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday. “There is no other solution to this problem.”

The post did not detail Tan’s alleged conflicts of interest. But it came after a letter from Tom Cotton, the Republican head of the Senate intelligence committee, to Intel’s board chair expressing “concern about the security and integrity of Intel’s operations” and Tan’s ties to China.

It also came one day after Trump met Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang at the White House.

The White House did not say whether the president’s post was related to the concerns raised by Cotton. But a White House official said: “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.”

Tan has been a prolific investor in Chinese tech companies, through his San Francisco-based venture capital firm as well as companies based in Hong Kong. His past investments have included Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, China’s largest chip manufacturer.

Before being appointed Intel CEO earlier this year, Tan ran California-based Cadence Design Systems, which last week admitted to violating US export controls by selling its chip design tools to a Chinese university with close ties to the military.

Intel did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s post. Intel shares dropped 2 per cent in early trading in New York.

Tan was appointed as Intel CEO in March after the Silicon Valley company’s board ousted his predecessor Pat Gelsinger in December.

Intel is the only US-headquartered company capable of producing advanced semiconductors, though it has so far largely missed out on the current boom for artificial intelligence chips. It has been awarded billions of dollars in US government subsidies and loans to support its chip manufacturing business, which has fallen far behind its rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

However, amid a radical cost-cutting programme, Tan warned last month that Intel might be forced to abandon development of its next-generation manufacturing technology if it were unable to secure a “significant external customer”. Such a move would hand a virtual monopoly of leading-edge chipmaking to TSMC.

“Intel is required to be a responsible steward of American taxpayer dollars and to comply with applicable security regulations,” Cotton wrote in Tuesday’s letter to Intel’s board chair, Frank Yeary. “Mr Tan’s associations raise questions about Intel’s ability to fulfil these obligations.”