Intel CEO under pressure to resign from President Trump, Ohio Senator Moreno
NEW ALBANY, Ohio (WCMH) – Shares from Intel plummeted before trading opened Thursday morning after President Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) called for the company’s CEO to resign due to alleged ties to China.
According to a post on Truth Social, President Trump said, “The CEO of Intel is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!”
The president’s post is in reaction to a letter sent to Intel Chairman Frank Yeary by Sen. Tom Cotton, who expressed concern over CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s investments and ties to semiconductor firms that are reportedly linked to the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army.
Cotton’s letter focused on Tan’s recent leadership of Cadence Design Systems and in July the tech company admitted to selling its products to China’s National University of Defense Technology in violation of U.S. export controls.
Sen. Moreno followed suit Thursday morning, posting on X, "It’s pretty obvious that @intel has failed to meet the commitments it made to the people of Ohio. Now we find out its new CEO is deeply conflicted with ties to the CCP. The CEO must immediately resign, the project completed, and a fraud investigation should be initiated by Ohio."
The backlash comes shortly after growing concerns were expressed of the future of Intel’s manufacturing site in New Albany, which reportedly will need to get external customers for its manufacturing division, or it may need to cease construction in Ohio. Watch previous coverage in the player above.
While the new technology, called 14A, is not expected to debut until 2027, Intel announced it is further slowing construction at its $28 billion manufacturing site in Licking County and said if it is unable to find external customers for the new manufacturing technology, it will likely have to stop all work in Ohio.
Intel’s Tan is hopeful the company will secure external 14A customers, but the company has been largely unsuccessful in attracting outside clients, and even Intel Products sometimes uses external manufacturers rather than Intel Foundry.
Intel representatives told NBC4 they are still committed to the Ohio One plant. Intel is already scaling down Foundry operations, including slowing construction in Ohio, as Tan realigns the Foundry to be reactive to market needs instead of proactive. Tan said Intel will only invest in Foundry expenses if there is a clear market for them going forward, including Ohio’s plant.
In addition to Thursday's Truth Social post, President Donald Trump said Wednesday his administration was planning to impose a 100 percent tariff on all semiconductor imports.
In 2022, Congress the CHIPS and Science Act to incentivize companies to manufacture semiconductor chips in the United States, leading to the proposed project in Licking County. Trump has been critical of the law, and he has argued that tariffs can be a tool to force companies to move their facilities to the United States.
Intel’s stock dropped more than 4% in premarket trading Thursday morning.
NBC4 has reached out to Intel for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.