Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan told employees Wednesday that the company had acted ethically when it hired a former executive from rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.<\/p>\n
TSMC sued the executive<\/a>, Wei-Jen Lo<\/a>, on Tuesday. It alleged that Lo violated a nondisclosure agreement by joining Intel as a vice president after his retirement from the Taiwanese company. <\/p>\n In a message to employees Wednesday morning, Tan defended the hiring and said the company stands behind its principles. <\/p>\n \u201cBased on everything we know today, we see no merit to the allegations involving Wei-Jen, and he continues to have our full support,\u201d <\/a>Tan told employees in the memo, reviewed by The Oregonian\/OregonLive. He said Lo will work in Intel\u2019s manufacturing group and its packaging business. <\/p>\n Intel confirmed Lo\u2019s hiring in a statement to The Oregonian\/OregonLive, its first public comment on the matter. The company said Lo will help revitalize Intel\u2019s engineering culture.<\/p>\n \u201cAs part of this transformation, Intel has welcomed back Wei-Jen Lo, who previously spent 18 years at Intel working on the development of Intel\u2019s wafer processing technology before joining TSMC, where he continued his work in their wafer processing technology development,\u201d Intel said. <\/p>\n \u201cIntel maintains rigorous policies and controls that strictly prohibit the use or transfer of any third-party confidential information or intellectual property,\u201d the company said in its statement.<\/p>\n In Wednesday\u2019s email to employees, Tan said that \u201cFreedom to work, to apply our skills, and to move between companies has been a cornerstone of innovation in the semiconductor industry since the earliest days.<\/a>“<\/p>\n