It seems that President Trump no longer believes that Intel’s CEO should resign. Trump announced on Truth Social that he had met with Lip-Bu Tan, Howard Luttick, Secretary of Commerce, and Howard Luttick, Secretary of the Treasury. He did not disclose the details of the meeting, but called it “very interesting.” Trump added, “His success and career rise is an amazing story.” As you may recall, Trump claimed that Tan had a “major conflict of interest” due to his investments in hundreds of Chinese companies and should resign. Reuters previously reported that some of these companies had ties to the Chinese military. “Mr. Tang and members of my cabinet will spend some time together and provide me with their recommendations next week,” Trump wrote in his post.
According to the Financial Times, Tan wrote a letter to Intel employees on this matter, stating that a lot of false information had been spread about his position. “I wanted to make it clear… I have always adhered to the highest legal and ethical standards,” he allegedly wrote in the letter. He also noted that Intel is in talks with the White House “to resolve the issues raised and ensure that they have the facts.”
The news that Trump had called on Tan to resign came after Tom Cotton, a Republican and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, sent a letter to Intel’s CEO. Cotton apparently expressed concern about “the security and integrity of Intel’s operations” due to Tan’s ties to China. Tan was appointed CEO of Intel in March, taking the helm of a company that was suffering losses because its foundry business was unable to attract large customers and was lagging behind competitors such as Taiwan Semiconductor. Since his appointment, Tan has implemented a series of cost-cutting measures, including reducing the number of jobs with the aim of reducing the workforce by 22% by the end of the year. He also recently told investors that Intel may abandon the development of next-generation manufacturing technology if it cannot attract a major customer.
