The chief executive of Intel, Lip-Bu Tan, met with President Trump on Monday in an emergency mission to defuse scrutiny of his leadership of the embattled chip company, just days after the president called for his immediate resignation over supposed ties to China.
It seems to have worked.
After the afternoon meeting at the White House, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that his discussion with Mr. Tan “was a very interesting one,” though he did not elaborate. Mr. Trump said that Mr. Tan and cabinet members would meet next week and “bring suggestions to me,” adding that the Intel chief’s “success and rise is an amazing story.”
Mr. Trump’s post appeared to signal that he was changing his mind about any national security risk posed by Mr. Tan, 65, who became Intel’s chief executive in March. Mr. Trump’s call last week for Mr. Tan to resign, citing his past investments in Chinese companies, was one of the first times the president had attempted to directly intervene to change the leadership at a major publicly traded company.
Mr. Trump’s comments demanding a change in Intel’s leadership — he had said Mr. Tan was “highly CONFLICTED” and needed to step down — had elicited criticism from some in the business community, who said the president was abusing his power by reaching into boardrooms.
“This is not normal. It’s not OK,” said Gigi Sohn, the former head of consumer group Public Knowledge and former senior official of the Federal Communications Commission. “This kind of intense interference into business practices is unheard of by Democrats and Republicans alike.”
In a statement on Monday, Intel said that Mr. Tan and Mr. Trump had a “candid and constructive discussion on Intel’s commitment to strengthening U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership.” The company did not respond to questions about whether Mr. Trump raised concerns about Mr. Tan’s apparent links to China with the executive himself.
“We appreciate the president’s strong leadership to advance these critical priorities and look forward to working closely with him and his administration as we restore this great American company,” Intel said in a statement.
The high-stakes conversation between the president and the Intel chief came at a crucial moment for the flagging American semiconductor manufacturer, which has fallen far behind rivals. The company forced out its previous chief executive, Patrick Gelsinger, last year and installed Mr. Tan, who had previously been on its board, in March to turn around the company.
Last month, Mr. Tan said Intel would lay off another 15 percent of its work force. He added that the company would focus on making inroads in the market for A.I. chips, regaining share in personal computer chips and improving the performance of its chip manufacturing technology.
Intel has also been in the spotlight because it has been a prime beneficiary of the CHIPS Act, a bipartisan effort passed during the Biden administration to jump start domestic semiconductor manufacturing. Intel was awarded $8.5 billion in federal funding to build plants in Arizona, Ohio and New Mexico. But its business challenges have raised questions about its ability to complete those projects and Mr. Trump has criticized the CHIPS Act.
Mr. Tan, who was born in Malaysia and later became an American citizen, is well-known as an investor and executive in the semiconductor industry and was the chief executive of Cadence Design Systems, a Silicon Valley maker of the software used to design chips, until 2021. He has faced scrutiny in recent years for investing in several Chinese companies.
Since taking over as Intel’s chief, Mr. Tan has dealt with mounting difficulties. Intel’s board has grown frustrated with his failure to articulate a strategy for Intel’s business, while employees have wrestled with his lack of communication and plan to eliminate jobs, said five people familiar with the company, including former employees and industry advisers.
Washington power brokers, including Mr. Trump and Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican of Arkansas who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, have also grown impatient with Mr. Tan over his ties to investments in China, among other issues.
Mr. Tan’s connections to China resurfaced in recent weeks when Cadence Design Systems, the company he previously led, pleaded guilty to unlawfully exporting semiconductor design tools to a Chinese university that works on nuclear explosive simulations. The company agreed to pay criminal penalties of nearly $118 million to resolve the charges.
After the Justice Department announced the settlement, Mr. Cotton’s office wrote a letter questioning Mr. Tan’s connections to China, said two people familiar with the letter. The following day, the Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo did a segment on Mr. Tan, and Mr. Trump, who regularly watches her show, wrote a social media post urging Intel’s board to fire Mr. Tan.
“There is no other solution to this problem,” Mr. Trump posted.
Later that day, Mr. Tan responded with a statement on Intel’s website. The United States “has been my home for more than 40 years,” he wrote, and added that he would meet with the administration to “ensure they have the facts.”
Don Clark contributed reporting.
Cecilia Kang reports on technology and regulatory policy for The Times from Washington. She has written about technology for over two decades.
Tripp Mickle reports on Apple and Silicon Valley for The Times and is based in San Francisco. His focus on Apple includes product launches, manufacturing issues and political challenges. He also writes about trends across the tech industry, including layoffs, generative A.I. and robot taxis.
Stuart A. Thompson writes about how false and misleading information spreads online and how it affects people around the world. He focuses on misinformation, disinformation and other misleading content.
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