CaliToday (22/10/2025): In an unprecedented act of corporate defiance, Chinese staff at the semiconductor giant Nexperia have been instructed to ignore all orders from the group’s Netherlands-based head office.
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| Nexperia’s Netherlands headquarters. The Hague seized control of the company last week - Peter Dejong/The Associated Press |
The move comes just days after the Dutch government seized control of the company from its Chinese owners, citing grave national security concerns.
In an internal letter posted on the social media platform WeChat, Nexperia China declared that all employees have the "right to refuse" directives from leaders at the Nijmegen headquarters. The letter assured staff that they would face no disciplinary consequences for this defiance, effectively creating an open rebellion against the new Dutch government-installed leadership.
"For any external instructions not authorised by the legal representative of Nexperia’s domestic company – even if transmitted via Outlook, Teams, etc – everyone has the right to refuse to carry them out without this constituting a breach of work discipline or legal provisions," the Nexperia China letter stated.
This extraordinary directive highlights the rapidly escalating tensions between The Hague and Beijing over the future of the critical chipmaker.
Dutch Seizure Sparked by US Pressure
The crisis was triggered last week when The Hague took the drastic step of ousting Nexperia’s Chinese leadership and taking state control of the firm.
On Tuesday, October 14, Zhang Xuezheng, Nexperia’s chief executive and also the chairman of its parent company Wingtech, was removed from his post. He was replaced by the company’s financial chief, Stefan Tilger.
The Dutch government justified the seizure by stating that "serious managerial shortcomings" meant Nexperia’s European operations were being "compromised in an unacceptable manner."
"This situation raised broader concerns for the Dutch government about the availability of semiconductor products critical to the European industry," a government statement said.
The move was not made in isolation. The Netherlands was reportedly forced to act following intense pressure from Washington. The US government had threatened to impose its own crippling export controls on Nexperia if Mr. Zhang, who leads the Chinese-owned parent company, remained in his post.
Wingtech, which is part-owned by the Chinese government, was placed on Washington’s tech blacklist last year over claims it had "aided Chinese government efforts to acquire entities with sensitive semiconductor manufacturing capability."
A Company Divided
The letter from Nexperia China is a direct challenge to the new Dutch-appointed leadership.
It explicitly told staff that they "should continue to follow instructions from Nexperia China" and warned that company management "will not allow external forces to influence operations or harm employee interests."
Nexperia is one of the world's largest semiconductor groups, specializing in lower-tech chips that are essential components in consumer electronics, automotive manufacturing, and industrial applications. The company has a significant global footprint with factories across Europe, including a major facility in Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK.
The company's complex ownership history is at the heart of the geopolitical dispute. Nexperia was first formed as an independent entity in 2006 after being spun out of the Dutch conglomerate Philips. In 2018, it was acquired by the Chinese firm Wingtech for $3.63 billion (£2.7 billion).
This is not the first time Nexperia's Chinese ownership has triggered alarms in the West. In 2023, the British government, citing national security concerns, ordered Nexperia to sell its factory in Newport, Wales. The current standoff in the Netherlands marks a significant escalation, moving from a forced sale of one asset to a complete government takeover of the company's European headquarters.