Nexperia’s Chinese subsidiary has publicly rejected a decision by the Dutch headquarters to remove John Chang as vice-president of global sales and marketing, declaring the dismissal legally ineffective in China and escalating a conflict that has garnered international attention.
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Nexperia China, the chipmaker’s primary entity in the country, said the dismissal “shall not have legal effect within the jurisdiction of China”, claiming it violated local company and labour laws, according to a statement published in both Chinese and English on the unit’s WeChat account on Thursday.
Chang, a veteran of the company, began his career at NXP Semiconductors – Nexperia’s former parent – in 2002 and transferred to Nexperia in 2017 when the company became independent. China’s Wingtech Technology acquired Nexperia in 2019.
A power struggle ensued after the Dutch government seized control of Nexperia and ousted its Chinese CEO Zhang Xuezheng late last month, citing national security concerns. Nexperia’s head office is currently led by interim CEO Stefan Tilger.
Nexperia China, responsible for 70 per cent of the company’s output, did not address Zhang’s situation, but it said that Chang would continue to lead “all sales operations, customer relationship management, supply chain coordination and daily operational decision-making for Nexperia globally”, including in China.
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The company reassured stakeholders that its operations were “being carried out in an orderly and normal manner”.