Dutch government took control of chipmaker Nexperia from the hands of a Chinese company at the end of last year
The company’s Dutch headquarters has disabled the corporate accounts of all its employees in China, disrupting parts of the local subsidiary’s production processes and intensifying an ongoing dispute over corporate control.
Nexperia Semiconductor (China) informed in a letter to customers on Friday (6 March 2026) that its parent company, Nexperia BV, deactivated the accounts of all employees in China at 7:02 pm on Tuesday (3 March). The measure blocked access to essential work systems, including Office 365 and SAP.
According to the Chinese unit, the system blockage interrupted new production processes. Orders that were already in production were not affected. The company stated that it had activated contingency plans and that most operations had resumed, guaranteeing basic production.
The move represents the latest escalation in a months-long battle for control of Nexperia, a Chinese-owned company. The dispute pits Wingtech against Nexperia’s European management and has been hit by US-China technology rivalry and Dutch national security concerns, triggering a complex legal and geopolitical impasse that has fragmented the company’s global operations.
An internal Nexperia source told Nexperia that the Dutch headquarters had already cut off access to the system for some Chinese employees in October 2025, forcing them to carry out certain tasks manually.
The latest action is much more far-reaching, affecting all employees in China and now disrupting production planning on assembly and testing lines.
An industry source told Caixin that the most viable option for Nexperia China would be to replace foreign software with domestic alternatives, although the transition will take time.
Based in the Netherlands, Nexperia was previously the standard products division of NXP Semiconductors NV. It supplies components to customers such as automakers Volkswagen and BMW, as well as electronics brands such as Huawei, Apple and Samsung.
Before the dispute, Nexperia employed about 12,500 people globally and generated approximately $2.1 billion in annual revenue.
Wingtech acquired 100% of Nexperia in a series of transactions between 2018 and 2020 for 33.8 billion yuan ($4.9 billion).
Conflict erupted after the US government added Wingtech to its Entity List on December 2, 2024.
On September 29, 2025, the US Department of Commerce issued a rule stating that any company with at least a 50% ownership of a company listed on the Entity List would be subject to the same export restrictions, directly implicating Nexperia.
A day later, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs ordered a freeze on Nexperia’s assets, intellectual property and operations. On October 1, 2025, Nexperia’s European management filed a court application in the Netherlands requesting an investigation and precautionary measures, which effectively removed Wingtech’s control over its subsidiary.
In response, Nexperia China announced export controls on certain products on October 4. Later that month, after Nexperia’s Dutch headquarters allegedly stopped paying Chinese employees, Wingtech and Nexperia China took direct control of local factories and declared that they would no longer follow the headquarters’ instructions.
Diplomatic talks in late 2025 led to the US suspending its 50% participation rule and caused the Dutch government to suspend its ministerial order. However, the Dutch court’s precautionary measures remained in force.
In February, the Dutch Business Chamber decided to launch a formal investigation into Nexperia, extending restrictions on Wingtech’s control indefinitely.
This report was originally in English by Caixin Global on March 6, 2026. It was translated and republished by Poder360 under mutual content sharing agreement.
