SoftBank’s Arm Says China CEO Fired for Major Irregularities
- Arm China’s board voted to replace CEO amid Huawei curbs
- Arm’s designs underpin most of the world’s mobile computing
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
SoftBank Group Corp.’s Arm Ltd. and its Chinese venture clashed publicly over whether the venture’s CEO had been fired, a dispute that threatens to disrupt a Western company central to the global semiconductor industry.
The conflict erupted after the British firm told Bloomberg News the board of Arm China -- jointly owned by Arm and investors including China’s sovereign wealth fund -- voted to oust Chief Executive Officer Allen Wu. Hours later, Arm China posted a statement to its official WeChat account asserting he was still in charge, a stance repeated across domestic social media. The U.K. firm then to say Wu had been dismissed after an investigation uncovered undisclosed conflicts of interest and violations of employee rules.