Nexperia China, the local unit of the Dutch chipmaker, has told its employees to follow orders from local management and ignore instructions from the Dutch head office, according to a letter issued to employees over the weekend.

In open revolt against the headquarters in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, Nexperia China said in a Chinese-language statement on its official social media channel on Saturday that it was an “independent” Chinese entity and that Nexperia employees in China “should continue to follow instructions from Nexperia China”.

“As for any other external instructions you may have received … you have the right to reject, and your act will not form any breach of work discipline or regulations,” the letter said, making it clear that local Chinese managers would take over operations in China.

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The letter – which said it applied to Nexperia China’s packaging plant in the southern city of Dongguan as well as branches in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Wuxi – added that the salaries and wages of Nexperia China employees were paid by the local entity, not the head office in the Netherlands.

The letter represents the latest salvo in a fight for control of the Nexperia business between Dutch authorities and the company’s Chinese owner, Wingtech Technology, which bought Nexperia in 2019.

The Post reported earlier that the Dutch government feared the Chinese owners planned to move its European manufacturing operations to China. This prompted Dutch authorities to seize control of Nexperia’s management and oust its Chinese CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, citing national security concerns, a move which has sent shock waves through the global tech world.

In response, China’s Ministry of Commerce on October 4 imposed export controls on Nexperia’s Chinese subsidiary and its subcontractors, banning the export of domestically made components.

In a visit to the packaging plant in Dongguan last week, workers told the Post that they were worried about becoming collateral damage in the simmering political dispute. The Dongguan plant, which accounts for about 70 per cent of Nexperia’s annual output, has become a key bargaining chip in the dispute.

The logo of Nexperia is pictured in Hamburg, Germany, on June 27, 2024. Photo: Reuters alt=The logo of Nexperia is pictured in Hamburg, Germany, on June 27, 2024. Photo: Reuters>

The Nexperia China letter to local employees came a day after it informed clients that the office had withheld access to work accounts and halted salaries for its employees in China, according to local news reports.

“We are deeply puzzled and disappointed,” the unit said in the letter, according to Chinese tech news outlet Electrans. The subsidiary said it faced “ruthless suppression” and noted that the current European management appeared to be “abandoning” the Chinese market.

At the same time, Nexperia’s head office said on Sunday that its employees in China still had access to company platforms and were receiving salaries as usual, a day after its China unit asserted that it had the right to operate independently of the Dutch parent, according to Reuters.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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