The Dutch government recently took over the subsidiary of Chinese technology company Wingtech, Nexperia, for national security reasons. This move has had ripple effects throughout the production line and the industry chain. On October 18th, workers at the Nexperia plant in Dongguan stated that after the National Day holiday, the factory has restricted shipments and plans to implement a “four days on, three days off” work schedule starting this week.
According to a report by the Daily Economic News on October 19th, on the 18th, some traders and customers gathered outside the Nexperia plant in Dongguan. Two customers who rushed from Suzhou overnight said they arrived at the factory in the early hours of the 17th, and the factory’s response was only “we can’t do anything about this situation” without providing a clear explanation.
“These past few days, many customers and traders have come to see the actual situation and take photos,” according to one of the customers. They noted that there were occasional trucks entering and leaving on the 18th, but it was unclear if they were shipping vehicles.
A trader who rushed from Shenzhen also mentioned that they have stationed staff on a daily basis, stating, “We have to give customers an explanation, and having more information on-site is crucial.”
They speculated that the factory has stopped shipping for over a week, but production does not seem to have completely halted. An employee of the company confirmed that Nexperia has been limiting shipments since the National Day holiday and that the inventory of Nexperia-related products in the company’s hands is not extensive, with specific supply situations being dependent on the product models.
Another employee who claimed to manage production efficiency mentioned that due to shortages of some raw materials and staffing issues, some positions will be adjusted to the “four days on, three days off” schedule starting this week, and overtime hours have been reduced from seventy to eighty hours a month to forty to fifty hours.
“This year, our orders have been full; it’s just the raw materials that are the issue,” the employee said. At the end of last month, the Dutch government took over this European chip manufacturer, Nexperia, citing the risk of critical technology being transferred to the Chinese parent company, Wingtech.
According to a notice on the Nexperia official website, on October 4th, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued an export control notice prohibiting Nexperia China and its subcontractors from exporting specific products and components manufactured in China.
Public information indicates that Nexperia’s headquarters is located in the Netherlands, with business operations globally. The Nexperia plant in Huanghai Town, Dongguan, is the company’s largest packaging and testing base, covering an area of approximately 100,000 square meters with around 4,000 employees.
Chinese semiconductor company Wingtech had previously completed the acquisition of 100% equity of Nexperia through multiple capital operations in 2020.