Embattled Dutch chipmaker Nexperia blasts ousted CEO over false accusations — claims of unpaid salaries and independent operation in China are 'falsehoods', say company

Dutch chip manufacturer, Nexperia, has accused the recently-ousted Chinese CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, of spreading "factually incorrect and misleading" claims about the company and its intentions, according to Bloomberg. Following reports he had claimed Dutch management was not paying salaries and that Chinese workers could operate independently of the company, Nexperia has denied this and claimed all its facilities were operating normally.

There's been a tug-of-war battle over automotive and machinery-chip manufacturer, Nexperia's ownership for a few weeks now. Initially, the Dutch government made the surprise move to take control of the Dutch chip maker, claiming it needed to protect key technologies from making their way to China. It was later discovered that it had received pressure from US regulators over the Chinese CEO, Xuezheng, who had been trying to use Nexperia funds and orders to prop up his own privately-held silicon manufacturer.

China then blocked the Chinese Nexperia facility from exporting its produced products, and now the ousted CEO is stirring up trouble by claiming that the facility can operate independently and that workers are not going to be paid by the Dutch management.

"Claims have been made that Nexperia has not been paying salaries to its employees,” the company said. “These statements are factually incorrect and misleading.”

These claims allegedly surfaced on an official Nexperia China WeChat page this weekend. It suggested the Chinese unit of Nexperia could operate as an independent company.

In an attempt to resolve this ongoing trade issue, Dutch Economy Minister Vincent Karremans, who currently has to approve all Nexperia management decisions as part of the government takeover, will speak with his Chinese counterpart in the near future. He has a meeting set up with the European Commission, which may act as a mediator.

In explaining the Dutch government's decision, Karremans reportedly told the Buitenhof on Sunday TV show, “Europe would have been 100% dependent for these sort of chips, in terms of knowledge, expertise and capacity, on foreign countries,” if no action had been taken.

Nexperia is a long-standing Dutch chip firm that produces processors for use in consumer electronics, appliances, farm machinery, and the automotive sector. Although its chips aren't made on cutting-edge lithography, the tussle over its ownership is seen as a further escalation in a global trade war over control of the supply chain for modern semiconductor manufacturing between the US and China.

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