Dutch semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia has issued an open letter to the leadership of its entities in China, urging them to take immediate steps to restore supply chain operations.
"Nexperia B.V. has made repeated and multiple attempts, both formal and informal, to re-establish the dialogue with Nexperia’s entities in China by means of direct outreach via calls, emails and proposed meetings," the letter said on Thursday.
"Regrettably, Nexperia did not receive any meaningful response," it added, saying the situation had compelled the company to "communicate publicly to underscore the urgency."
Nexperia makes billions of simple but ubiquitous chips for cars and other electronics and shortages have threatened automotive supply chains, leading to production slowdowns and halts.
It manufactures most of its wafers in Hamburg, Germany, and then sends them to Dongguan, China to be packaged and sent on to customers.
Ceasing exports
The Dutch government, on September 30, took control of Nexperia, which is headquartered in the Netherlands but owned by China's Wingtech, saying the move was necessary to prevent the company's former CEO from moving European operations to China from its current base in the Netherlands.
In response, Beijing halted exports of Nexperia's finished products on October 4, a measure it has since partly relaxed.
Separately, Nexperia's Chinese arm declared itself no longer subject to control by European management after the seizure and on October 26, the European side of the company stopped shipping wafers to it, citing non-payment.
On Wednesday, China pushed for a company-led resolution following a call between China's commerce minister Wang Wentao and EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic.
