A deepening power struggle inside Dutch chipmaker Nexperia has erupted into open defiance, as its Chinese subsidiary publicly rejected a directive from headquarters to dismiss a senior executive and resumed chip sales in defiance of Dutch oversight. The rare public split underscores growing tensions between The Hague and Beijing over control of critical semiconductor supply chains.
Nexperia China announced Thursday that it would not recognize the Dutch parent's decision to remove John Chang, its vice president of global sales and marketing, calling the move "legally ineffective" under Chinese law. In a bilingual statement posted to its official WeChat account, the unit said the dismissal "shall not have legal effect within the jurisdiction of China," and claimed it violated local labor and company regulations.
Chang, a 20-year veteran of the firm who began at NXP Semiconductors before Nexperia spun off in 2017, was appointed to the top sales role under China's Wingtech Technology, which acquired the company in 2019. Nexperia China said Chang would continue to lead "all sales operations, customer relationship management, supply chain coordination and daily operational decision-making for Nexperia globally," asserting its autonomy from the Dutch headquarters now led by interim CEO Stefan Tilger.
The clash follows the Dutch government's dramatic seizure of Nexperia on September 30, when it removed Chinese CEO Zhang Xuezheng citing national security and governance concerns. The intervention, backed by rising U.S. pressure over Wingtech's ownership, effectively placed the company under Dutch state control. Beijing retaliated by banning exports of Nexperia's finished products from China, cutting off a major pipeline for automotive and consumer electronics chips.
Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Nexperia's Chinese unit has since resumed domestic chip shipments to local distributors-but only for transactions settled in yuan. Previously, sales were conducted in foreign currencies such as the U.S. dollar. The new yuan-only policy, they said, signals an attempt by the Chinese arm to stabilize operations and assert financial independence from its Dutch parent.
Nexperia China reportedly instructed local distributors to sell only in yuan as well, further insulating its domestic business from foreign currency restrictions. However, the Dutch headquarters warned global customers that it "does not guarantee the quality of products sourced from its Chinese subsidiary," according to one of the sources.
A Nexperia spokesperson declined to comment directly on the Chinese unit's actions but said the company's effort to find alternative packaging partners outside China "predates the dispute." The spokesperson added that Nexperia was obligated to "inform customers of potential risks" associated with the ongoing rift but had not instructed them to stop buying from China.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof confirmed late Thursday that he briefed European leaders on the situation during the EU summit in Brussels. "I gave a brief explanation about Nexperia tonight at dinner, as multiple leaders were of course interested," Schoof said. "I have explained this was about a rogue CEO, this was not an action targeted at China. We are working hard to try to solve this situation as quickly as possible."
Nexperia's Chinese subsidiary, which accounts for roughly 70% of the company's global production, said operations remained "orderly and normal."
