PORTLAND — Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich told employees Sunday that the company opposes President Trump’s order barring travel into the U.S. by residents of seven countries where a majority of the population is Muslim.
“I have heard from many of you,” Krzanich told employees, “and share your concern over the recent executive order and want you to know this is not a policy we can support.”
With the statement, Krzanich joins other CEOs of large companies — including Nike chief executive Mark Parker — who have denounced Trump’s action.
Intel’s CEO: Message to workers
Intel Employees,
I wanted to get a note out to you that goes beyond the statement on our Policy blog or my latest tweet, about the recent directives around immigration. First, as the grandson of immigrants and the CEO of a company that was co-founded by an immigrant, we believe that lawful immigration is critical to the future of our company and this nation. One of the founding cultural behaviors at Intel is constructive confrontation where you focus on the issue, and not on the person or organization. The statement we submitted today does just that. It focuses on the issues. We will continue to make our voice heard that we believe immigration is an important part of making Intel and America all that we can be. I have heard from many of you and share your concern over the recent executive order and want you to know it is not a policy we can support.
At Intel we believe that immigration is an important part of our diversity and inclusion efforts. Inclusion is about making everyone feel welcome and a part of our community. There are employees at Intel that are directly affected by this order. The HR and Legal teams are working with them in every way possible and we will continue to support them until their situations are resolved. I know I can count on all of you to role model our culture and support these employees and their families.
I am committing to all of you – as employees of what I believe to be the greatest company on the planet – that we will not back down from these values and commitments. There will always be forces from outside of the company that will try and distract us from our mission. The key to our success will be our unrelenting focus. As our founder Robert Noyce said: “Do not be encumbered by the past, go out and do something wonderful today.” Each of us can go out and do something wonderful to role model our values.
(The note concluded with an Intel email address for answering employee questions and providing assistance to workers.)
The statement to workers goes well beyond what Krzanich said in a tweet Sunday afternoon, in which he said only that Intel supports “lawful immigration” but did not comment on the merits of Trump’s order.
“First, as the grandson of immigrants and the CEO of a company that was co-founded by an immigrant, we believe that lawful immigration is critical to the future of our company and this nation,” Krzanich wrote in his full note to employees.
Intel’s official history lists two founders, Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, both of whom were born in the United States. But their first hires included Andy Grove, who survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary and migrated to the U.S. in the 1950s.
Grove, who died last year at age 79, ran Intel for 11 years and played a singular role in establishing Intel’s leading role in microprocessor technology.
“At Intel we believe that immigration is an important part of our diversity and inclusion efforts,” Krzanich wrote to Intel workers. “Inclusion is about making everyone feel welcome and part of our community.”
The message said Intel has employees “directly affected” by Trump’s order, and Krzanich said the company’s legal teams “are working with them in every way possible.”
After spending the presidential transition courting Trump, many tech executives spoke out against his immigration order over the weekend. The CEOs of Netflix, Google, Microsoft and Facebook all expressed varying levels of concern. Ride-sharing service Lyft promised $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union, which is fighting Trump’s order in court.
Intel depends heavily on workers from other countries. Roughly half its 106,000 employees work in other countries, and at any given time its U.S. employees include roughly 3,000 foreigners on work visas for those with specialized skills.
The chipmaker is Oregon’s largest private employer; it had 19,500 employees in Washington County before a round of cutbacks eliminated roughly 13 percent of Intel’s work force last year. Intel won’t say how many employees it now has in the state.
During the presidential campaign, The New York Times reported Krzanich planned and then canceled a fundraiser for Trump. Krzanich attended Trump’s summit of tech leaders in New York last month, and last week he joined the president’s new American Manufacturing Jobs Initiative.
Intel was among the contributors to Trump’s inaugural committee, too. Asked about that by employees at a company meeting last week, Krzanich said the contribution gives Intel a seat at the table on issues important to the company.
